Lingering Doubts

The death of Ajit Pawar in a plane crash near Baramati last month has left Maharashtra politically shaken and institutionally exposed. Tragedies involving powerful figures rarely remain private affairs. In India, where politics runs on suspicion as much as on trust, they demand not just investigation but finality. That is precisely what has so far been missing in this case.

The Mahayuti government’s decision to request a CBI inquiry, announced by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, is therefore both unavoidable and overdue. Multiple probes by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the state CID and now the Central Bureau of Investigation may appear excessive. Yet the proliferation of inquiries is itself an indictment of how poorly confidence has been managed since the crash of the chartered Learjet 45 on January 28.

The official account is a technical failure during landing, an unfortunate but explainable accident. But the political afterlife of the crash has been anything but. Rohit Pawar, Ajit Pawar’s nephew and a leader of the rival Sharad Pawar faction, has publicly questioned the circumstances of the crash, alleged irregularities in the handling of evidence, and hinted at possible conflicts of interest involving the aircraft’s owner, VSR. While these claims are unproven, their persistence has ensured that the tragedy has not been allowed to rest.

At the centre of the unease lies the black box. Reports suggesting that the flight recorder was ‘burnt’ have fuelled disbelief. Aviation accidents across the world have involved fires of far greater intensity, yet data recorders usually survive. The suggestion that one did not, or that its condition was misrepresented, has proved politically incendiary.

A CBI probe in this suggests that state-level reassurance has failed. In a polity where investigative agencies are often accused of political bias, the very institution critics distrust is now being invoked as the only authority capable of restoring credibility.

Rohit Pawar’s letter to Narendra Modi, demanding the resignation of the civil aviation minister pending the inquiry risks transforming a safety investigation into a partisan battlefield. Still, such demands draw strength from uncertainty.

Fadnavis has struck a careful tone. He has urged restraint, insisted that the DGCA’s audit of VSR’s logbooks is thorough, and even that he himself has flown on the same aircraft. Yet reassurance cannot substitute for evidence.

This case matters beyond Maharashtra’s factional feuds. Political leaders in India fly frequently, often on chartered aircraft operated by private firms of uneven pedigree. If safety protocols, maintenance records, or investigative processes are found wanting, the implications will be national. A probe that merely closes files will not suffice.

The CBI investigation must therefore do more than identify mechanical causes. It must conclusively dispel doubts about evidence handling, ownership links, regulatory oversight, and delays. Anything less will leave the crash suspended in ambiguity which in turn is fertile ground for conspiracy and cynicism alike. In a democracy already short on trust, closure is not a luxury but a necessity.