Maharashtra CM Fadnavis declares public holiday, three-day mourning after Deputy CM Ajit Pawar’s death

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday announced a public holiday across the state following the death of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in a plane crash near Baramati.

In a post on X, Fadnavis said all his official programmes had been cancelled and that he, along with Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, would leave for Baramati shortly. He also announced a three-day period of state mourning.

Expressing grief, Fadnavis said Pawar’s death in the plane crash was ‘extremely heartbreaking’ and described it as a personal loss. He said the loss was irreparable and that the day was an exceptionally difficult one for Maharashtra. The Chief Minister extended condolences to Pawar’s family, the NCP, and the families of the other victims who died in the crash.

Five people, including Ajit Pawar, were killed when a Learjet 45 aircraft (registration VT-SSK), operated by VSR, crashed while attempting to land near Baramati on Wednesday morning, according to flight details.

Apart from Pawar, those on board included a personal security officer (PSO), an attendant, and two crew members, the Pilot-in-Command (PIC) and the Second-in-Command (SIC).

The deceased have been identified as Vidip Jadhav and Pinky Mali. The crew members were identified as PIC Sumit Kapur and SIC Shambhavi Pathak, according to the passenger list.

Further details into the cause of the crash are awaited as authorities continue their investigation.