In an apparent snub to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar on Wednesday said the plane crash involving his nephew Ajit Pawar and four others was an accident and should not be politicised.
Addressing reporters, he said Ajit’s death was a big shock for Maharashtra, which has lost a hardworking and efficient leader, and this loss is irreparable.
“Not all things are in our hands,” he added.
No Politics, Just Tragedy
“A stand was floated from Kolkata that there is some politics involved in this incident. But there is nothing like this. There is no politics in it. It was an accident. I request not to bring politics into it,” he said.
Banerjee has demanded a Supreme Court-monitored probe into the death of Ajit Pawar, alleging that “all other agencies” have been “completely compromised.” She stressed that the truth would not emerge through existing mechanisms and that only a probe under the supervision of the Supreme Court would be credible.
Final Messages from the Co-Pilot
Shambhavi Pathak, the co-pilot of the aircraft, had sent a rare “good morning” message to her grandmother in Gwalior before take-off, which later turned out to be her last communication.
Besides Pawar, Captain Sumit Kapoor, co-pilot Shambhavi Pathak, flight attendant Pinky Mali, and Pawar’s Personal Security Officer (PSO) Vidip Jadhav were killed when the Learjet 45 aircraft en route to Baramati from Mumbai crashed near Baramati airport in Pune district.
Shambhavi was the daughter of retired Air Force pilot Vikram Pathak. Speaking to PTI, her grandmother Meera Pathak said Shambhavi, 25, studied at Air Force Vidya Bharti School up to Class V during her father’s posting in Gwalior. After her father’s transfer, the family moved to Lodhi Colony in Delhi.
Meera Pathak said Shambhavi had received commercial pilot training in New Zealand and frequently flew to destinations including Delhi, London, and Russia.
She said she was surprised to receive the “good morning” message, as Shambhavi did not send messages regularly. Around 11 AM, Meera’s younger son called to inform her that Shambhavi was among the passengers on the plane that had crashed and that Ajit Pawar had died.
Later, Shambhavi’s father and Meera’s elder son called to inform the family that they were travelling to Pune to receive the body.
Neighbours and friends remembered Shambhavi as intelligent and playful. Usha Uniyal, a neighbour, told PTI that Shambhavi never missed an opportunity to visit her grandmother in Gwalior. Another neighbour recalled that she had come to Gwalior on the death anniversary of her grandfather in 2024, and again on October 12, 2025.
According to Flight Radar, the aircraft took off from Mumbai at 8:10 AM and disappeared from radar around 8:45 AM, crashing a minute later, police said. Pawar was travelling from Mumbai to Baramati to address public meetings as part of the campaign for the Zilla Parishad elections scheduled for February 5.