ESCALATING HIS attack over the January 28 aircraft crash that killed then Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, NCP-SP MLA Rohit Pawar on Wednesday demanded a criminal investigation into the incident and sought the removal of Union Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu until the inquiry is completed.

Addressing a press conference in Mumbai, his second on the issue, Pawar alleged that the minister and his party, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), have “friendly” relations with VSR Ventures, the company that operated the crashed aircraft, raising doubts about the fairness of the ongoing probe.

He alleged that a fair inquiry would not be possible when the Civil Aviation Ministry is under a TDP leader. “Around a year ago, a senior TDP leader attended the wedding of VSR’s owner’s son in Rajasthan. A private jet of a minister from Andhra Pradesh is run by this company. A business group from Andhra has invested in this company. The minister has already given a clean chit to VSR. How can anyone expect a fair and impartial probe into this incident from the ministry which is controlled by the TDP? The minister should be removed from the portfolio at the earliest,” Pawar said.

Alleging a nexus between the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and VSR Ventures, Pawar claimed that the probe was being delayed to shield the company and its investors. “The reason for delay in the preliminary probe report is that DGCA and VSR are hand-in-glove and backdated paperwork is being done to protect the company. We demand that the probe should not rely on papers but must submit digital records as well,” he said.

He demanded the constitution of a high-level monitoring panel to oversee the investigation. “This committee should include former bureaucrats, former judges, Lok Sabha’s leader of opposition since Maharashtra does not have LoP and family members. And the probe should be monitored by this committee,” he demanded.

Raising questions over the aircraft’s documentation, Pawar referred to what he described as discrepancies in certification records. Holding up a certificate of airworthiness issued by the DGCA dated September 16, 2021, he said, “But the certificate of registration is on December 27, 2022. Who allowed this? The aircraft was purchased from the USA and it had exhausted Time Before Overhauling, which means the engine life was ended. In addition, the mandatory fulfilment of Supplemental Type Certificate has not been made by the VSR,” he said.

Pawar also questioned the status of a special audit ordered by the ministry. Referring to the February 2 order constituting a six-member committee to conduct an audit of VSR Ventures, with a deadline of February 15, he said, “The report has yet not been submitted. Can anyone explain the reason behind this delay? Two members, Captain Apoorva Agarwal and Captain Lokesh Rampal are not type rated for Learjet 45 aircraft and are still added in this committee. Why is it so?”

Further alleging that Rohit Singh, son of the company’s owner, had left the country, Rohit Pawar said, “How and why was he allowed to leave India? It raises serious questions.” The MLA said Singh is currently in Miami, Florida.

When Indian Express reached out to Ram Mohan Naidu, he was unavailable for comment. But sources close to the minister said, “The Minister has no relation with VSR. Ministry of civil aviation is committed to a transparent investigation and all necessary measures have been taken.”

Referring to a demand for a CBI inquiry made by leaders of the ruling NCP in a letter to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Pawar said, “Yesterday, a demand was made regarding the CBI inquiry. It is good. But it was made 20 days after the incident. It is too late.”

He also claimed that since he began raising questions about the crash, BJP supporters had targeted him online. “I don’t know why they are getting nervous. I don’t know whether they are acting on their own or have been asked to do so. A BJP troller called Sumit Thakker had said two days before the incident that there will be some incident in two days which will change Maharashtra’s politics and deleted it within minutes. He will not be spared for sure,” Pawar said.

At his earlier press conference in February 10, Pawar had first flagged alleged procedural lapses in the aircraft’s maintenance and certification process, questioned the delay in the preliminary investigation report, and demanded that digital maintenance and flight data records be preserved. He had then stopped short of seeking the Civil Aviation Minister’s removal.

NCP working president and Rajya Sabha MP Praful Patel on Wednesday said that AAIB is an autonomous organisation. “In the United States, there are labs where even a damaged black box can be decoded and therefore it could be sent there. Though I have no authentic information and I don’t want to comment further,” said Patel.

Late Wednesday, speaking for the first time since his father’s death, late Ajit Pawar’s son Jay Pawar posted on social media site demanding ban on VSR Ventures from operating flights and a thorough as well as impartial investigation.

“Black boxes cannot be easily destroyed in plane crashes; the people of Maharashtra have the right to know the complete, transparent, and undeniable truth behind this heart-wrenching accident. By immediately banning VSR from operating flights, a thorough and impartial investigation must be conducted into the potential serious irregularities in their aircraft maintenance,” Jay Pawar posted.

His message is also seen as an endorsement of Rohit Pawar’s allegations seeking probe into the conduct of the aviation company.