A day after the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) sought a CBI probe into the plane crash that killed its chief, Ajit Pawar’s nephew and NCP SP MLA Rohit Pawar on Wednesday (February 18, 2026) alleged that the plane was loaded with extra fuel tanks, questioning why no action has been taken against VSR Aviation company.
The Karjat MLA also demanded the setting up of a committee to monitor the ongoing investigation, consisting Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi and Pawar family members.
We suspect that Ajit Pawar’s death was sabotage, not an accident, says family
“The high-intensity explosion occurred during the crash due to illegal fuel tanks. The fuel tank was full, and two more tanks were kept in the plane, acting as a bomb. Why did you want to have so many fuel tanks to fly to Baramati? The refilling could have been done in Hyderabad as well,” Mr. Pawar said, adding that small things are forcing us to question whether this is an accident or a conspiracy.
Pointing out the delay in the investigation, Mr. Pawar said, “The investigation order was issued on February 2, and the forensic people reached the spot late in the evening on January 28. How the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DCGA) investigates when there are discrepancies in the VSR’s operations. 20 days have gone by, and why is there no preliminary report out? They are protecting VSR and the brains behind it. We were checking why there is no action on the VSR company.”
