Mumbai : Nationalist Congress Party (SP) MLA Rohit R. Pawar alleged that the VSR Ventures Pvt. Ltd. had high political and business connections, some linked with state governments or aligned with the ruling party at the centre who were attempting to divert the probe into the Jan. 28 Baramati air-crash ostensibly to protect the company. In another hard-hitting media-presentation, Rohit Pawar spoke of a “high-level political and commercial conspiracy” behind the air tragedy that killed five persons, including his uncle, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) President and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit A. Pawar last month. The Karjat-Jamkhed lawmaker claimed that conducting deep study after his earlier presentation in Mumbai, his team found “the threats of VSRVPL led to very influential people”. “Moreover, the company is backed by some big leaders in power and prominent industrialists, among its lenders are persons with direct connections to the Telugu Desam Party and others,” alleged Rohit Pawar. Pointing fingers at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), he said that many of its former officials could also be involved and such a scale of hold by the VSRVPL suggested the possibility of “an international-level of political or commercial plot”. “The people involved seem to be extremely big… Only Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah can take personal charge to ensure justice for Ajit Pawar. I plan to meet and submit a letter to them on this,” said Rohit Pawar. Simultaneously, he urged Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi to intervene in the matter, plus support the demand for the resignation of Minister of Civil Aviation K. Rammohan Naidu, at least till the probe is completed, asking why the Minister allegedly cleared the operator of any culpability soon after the disaster. Rohit Pawar reiterated his suspicions on other irregularities surrounding the crash of the Bombardier Learjet 45, registered as VT-SSK, on the Black Box which was retrieved earlier this week. “When the DGCA rules mandate a two-hour recording capability, why did this aircraft’s Cockpit Voice Recorder have a capacity of only 30 minutes recording? If the aircraft was worth some Rs 35 cr. how come it was insured for Rs 210 cr. and the pilot was covered for Rs 50 cr.,” demanded Rohit Pawar. He raised the possibility of the pilot suffering from mental and financial stress as he had been jobless for four years after leaving the defunct Jet Airways where he earned around Rs 10-12 lakhs per month, but at VSRVPL, his pay was barely 25-30 percent. Rohit Pawar asked whether the concerned flight safety manager had been probed or booked as the Learjet 45 was being operated ‘illegally’ without a proper license and it was earlier banned in Europe. Rohit Pawar roasts political trolls Taking strong umbrage to the social media trolling of his exposes on the Baramati air-crash, NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar pointedly alleged: “Though we know they represent the BJP, who is paying them?” - during his New Delhi presentation, vowing not to rest till justice is done. “If the BJP trolls oppose our demand for a thorough probe, is the party involved in it? We seek information through RTI and get nothing, but the trolls seem to get it from the authorities. Is it an attempt to scare us,” he wondered.
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