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DGCA and Maharashtra CID investigating January 28 Baramati crash that killed Ajit Pawar

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the black box has been recovered as an NCP (SP) MLA pressed conspiracy claims; the cause has not been determined.

By AI ReporterFirst reported Jan 28, 2026, 1:43 a.m. ETWritten Aug 9, 2026, 10:17 p.m. ET

More on this incident

Investigations are continuing into the January 28, 2026 crash near , Maharashtra, in which Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar was killed, The Indian Express reported. The event remains developing and the cause has not been determined. According to The Indian Express, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the Directorate General of Civil Aviation is investigating the crash, with a parallel probe by the Maharashtra state CID, and that the black box has been recovered. Fadnavis said he had written to the Centre demanding an investigation and that the Ministry of Civil Aviation had given its nod. He also urged against rushing to conclusions. The newspaper reported that NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar alleged a conspiracy could not be ruled out and sought a probe by foreign agencies. In an hour-long presentation running to 54 slides, he questioned visibility information, a last-minute pilot replacement and a change in Ajit Pawar's itinerary. Those are claims by a legislator, not findings by any authority. The aircraft involved has not been identified in the available reporting. Geographic reference data places in Pune District, Maharashtra, at a settlement elevation of 1,873 feet, about 9.0 miles west of Airport; that locates the town and not the accident site. No investigating body has stated a cause. The DGCA and CID inquiries were continuing as of the February 12, 2026 reporting.

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Reference data

From aircraft and geographic registries, not from the news sources. Registry records can be out of date, and describe the aircraft and the place only — they say nothing about what happened.

Registration
VT-SSK
Type
LEARJET — twin-engine jet landplane
Terrain elevation
1,873 ft
Nearest aerodrome
9.0 miles W of Baramati Airport (IN-0024)

Sources

Revision history

  1. Version 410 Aug 2026, 02:48current

    Added the scheduled 8.45 am landing time and the phone-call recording made six minutes before the crash, released by Shrijit Pawar.

  2. Version 310 Aug 2026, 02:43

    No new facts; AAIB expanded on first mention and Ajit Pawar's 2023 NCP split added at the close.

  3. Version 210 Aug 2026, 02:32

    Added the AAIB preliminary report's flagged factors, Rohit Pawar's detailed objections to it, Capt Amit Singh's comment on the recorder photos, allegations about VSR Ventures' revenues and its owner, and the conflicting reported time of the crash.

  4. Version 110 Aug 2026, 02:23

    First published.

  5. Version 110 Aug 2026, 02:17current

    First published.

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