Ajit Pawar Plane Crash Highlights: Maharashtra Dy CM cremated; Amit Shah, Nitin Nabin, other top leaders pay respect

NCP-SCP MP Fauzia Khan on Thursday expressed profound grief over the demise of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, remembering him as family and lauding him as a skilled organiser and administrator.

Speaking to ANI, Fauzia Khan said the shock and pain following Ajit Pawar's demise were beyond words.

"The pain and shock we are in cannot be expressed in words. He was the elder brother of Maharashtra and always worked with everyone collectively," she said.

The black box of the ill-fated Learjet 45 plane that crashed near the Baramati airstrip on Wednesday morning has been recovered, while Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu sought the state government's support for expediting the probe into the accident.

Following the tragic death of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in a chartered plane crash, senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and Maharashtra FDA minister Narhari Zirwal has hinted at a new role for Sunetra Pawar. Zirwal, a close aide to the deceased NCP leader, said that the public wants Sunetra Pawar to hold a cabinet berth in the state government. Read more

Senior NCP leader and Maharashtra FDA minister Narhari Zirwal on Thursday said that the public wants late Deputy CM Ajit Pawar's wife, Sunetra Pawar, to be brought into the state ministry.

Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is a constituent of the ruling Mahayuti alliance in the state along with the BJP and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena.

Sunetra Pawar is currently a Rajya Sabha member.

The Uttar Pradesh Council of Ministers on Thursday passed a condolence resolution expressing deep grief over the sudden demise of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, an official statement said.

The resolution was adopted at a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The ministers described the deaths of Pawar and four others in a plane crash in Baramati, Maharashtra, on Wednesday as "extremely tragic", the statement said.

The cabinet expressed profound condolences to the bereaved families and prayed for peace for the departed souls. It said, "Pawar's untimely demise is an irreparable loss."

Grief swept through Baramati in Pune district on Thursday as Maharashtra bid farewell to Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who lost his life in a tragic plane crash, with his last rites performed with full state honours.

NCP leader Zeeshan Siddique said, “It is a very sad moment for all of us. He was like a father figure to me and cannot be replaced... We are awaiting updates on the investigation to understand exactly what happened.”

Former Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said, “I want to pay tribute to Ajit Pawar. He used to work together with everyone."

Two pilots, a flight attendant and a personal security officer were also killed in the accident.

Those killed in the crash were:

Captain Sumit Kapoor, who had a flying experience of 15,000 hours

Co-pilot Capt. Shambhavi Pathak with 1,500 hours of flying

Personal Security Officer (PSO) Vidip Jadhav

Flight attendant Pinky Mali

Full state honours were accorded to Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar as his mortal remains were taken to the Vidya Pratishthan ground for the last rites. His remains arrived wrapped in Tricolour at the Vidya Pratishthan

Mortal remains of Ajit Pawar arrives at Vidya Pratishthan ground for his last rites.

Mortal remains of NCP Chief and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar arrive at Vidya Pratishthan ground for his last rites.

“The investigation is progressing expeditiously, and the black box of the ill-fated aircraft has been recovered,” the MoCA said in a tweet.

The ministry said that the investigation into the crash has been initiated in accordance with Rules 5 and 11 of the AAIB Rules, 2025.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrives at Baramati Airport to attend the last rites of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.

Goa CM Pramod Sawant arrives at Vidya Pratishthan ground for Ajit Pawar's funeral.

Cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder have been recovered, said the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA).

On Ajit Pawar's death, Karnataka Minister Dr Sharan Prakash Patil alleged that the government of India is not monitoring “these things properly, and time and again, these incidents will create doubts in people's minds.”

“Mamata Banerjee and many leaders have asked for a probe under the Supreme Court's monitoring. This should definitely be done, because unless we go to the bottom of why it happened, we won't be able to address it...” he added.

Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy CM Eknath Shinde arrive in Baramati to attend the last rites of Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari arrives at Vidya Pratishthan ground to attend the last rites of Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar.

MNS Chief Raj Thackeray arrives at the Vidya Pratishthan ground to attend the last rites of Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar.

Andhra Pradesh Minister Lokesh Nara arrives at Baramati Airport to attend last rites of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.

Hundreds of mourners thronged the residence of Ajit Pawar at his native village Katewadi on Thursday morning to pay their last respects to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister who died in a plane crash.

Grief-stricken people from Katewadi and nearby villages in Pune district, joined by NCP workers, made a beeline outside the residence gates, chanting slogans such as "Ajit Dada Amar Rahe" and "Ajit Dada Parat Ya" (Ajit Dada please come back).