PTI file photo
Maharashtra on Thursday held the last rites of Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar amid chants of “Ajit Dada Amar Rahe” at Baramati. The 66-year-old NCP chief was cremated with full state honours at the Vidya Pratishthan college ground.Pawar died a day earlier, along with four others, when the chartered aircraft carrying them crashed on Wednesday. The college where the cremation was held was founded by the Pawar family.His mortal remains, draped in the national flag, were taken from his native Katewadi to the Vidya Pratishthan ground, about 100 km from Pune.His cousin Supriya Sule, the NCP (SP) Lok Sabha member from Baramati, stood with Pawar’s wife Sunetra Pawar, a Rajya Sabha member, offering support as she paid tributes to her late husband.As large numbers gathered to pay their respects, Pawar’s sons, Parth and Jay, lit the funeral pyre. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP president Nitin Nabin and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis were present.Union minister Nitin Gadkari and Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar were among those who attended the ceremony to pay their respects, along with actor Riteish Deshmukh and leaders from across the political spectrum. Union minister Ramdas Athawale, Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant, Maharashtra Deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde, assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar, former union minister Sushilkumar Shinde and Andhra Pradesh minister Nara Lokesh placed floral wreaths on Pawar’s mortal remains.Family members, including Ajit Pawar’s younger brother Shriniwas Pawar, his sisters, and cousin Abhijit Pawar, also paid tributes. Former chief minister Ashok Chavan, Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal, and party leader Manikrao Thakare were present as well.Earlier in the day, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief and former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray and MNS president Raj Thackeray offered floral tributes at Ajit Pawar’s residence in Katewadi.On Thursday morning, the mortal remains of Ajit Pawar were taken from Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Hospital in Baramati, where they had been kept overnight, to his native village.Pawar and four others were killed when the aircraft they were travelling in crashed about 200 metres from the edge of a tabletop airstrip. The victims included Captain Sumit Kapoor, co-pilot Shambhavi Pathak, personal security officer Vidip Jadhav and flight attendant Pinky Mali. Their bodies have been handed over to their families.Police have registered an accidental death report in the case. According to a government statement, the aircraft had gone around due to poor visibility and was later cleared to land, but failed to respond to air traffic control before bursting into flames near the airstrip.Civil aviation minister Rammohan Naidu Kinjarapu on Thursday informed Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis that the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau has launched a formal probe into the accident. He said the investigation would be carried out transparently and within a stipulated timeframe.
