Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP chief Ajit Pawar was cremated with full state honours on Thursday at the Vidya Pratisthan ground in Baramati. His family, supporters and thousands of mourners bid a heartfelt farewell to the senior leader. The ceremony saw the presence of top leaders including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP national president Nitin Nabin, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy CM Eknath Shinde.
Family and supporters mourn their leader
Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra Pawar and sons Parth and Jay were present during the cremation. Supporters chanted slogans such as "Ajit Dada Amar Rahe" as his mortal remains were brought to the ground. Earlier in the morning, hundreds of mourners thronged Ajit Pawar's Katewadi residence in his native village to pay their last respects. People from Katewadi and nearby villages in Pune district, joined by NCP workers, gathered outside the residence, chanting "Ajit Dada Amar Rahe" and "Ajit Dada Parat Ya" (Ajit Dada please come back). Many mourners recalled his contributions to the region’s development, saying, "A leader like him will not be born again."
Shah, Gadkari among top leaders to pay final respects
Union Ministers Ami Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Ramdas Athawale, BJP chief Nitin Nabin, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, Goa CM Pramod Sawant, former Union minister Sushilkumar Shinde and Andhra Pradesh minister Nara Lokesh were among the leaders who placed floral wreaths on Pawar's mortal remains. Following this, Parth and Jay lit their father's funeral pyre.
Baramati plane crash
It is to be noted here that Pawar and four other persons on board the aircraft were killed after it crashed barely 200 metres from the edge of the tabletop airstrip. The others killed in the tragedy 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 and flight attendant Pinky Mali.
Police file ADR, black box recovered
Meanwhile, police have registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR) case in connection with the plane crash, an official said. Earlier on Wednesday, the government released a statement detailing the sequence of events that led to the crash and Ajit Pawar's death. The aircraft was cleared for landing after a go-around due to poor visibility, but having finally received a clearance, it did not give any read-back to the ATC, and moments later burst into flames near the edge of the airstrip. The Civil Aviation Ministry on Thursday said the "black box" (comprising the Flight Data Recorder and Cockpit Voice Recorde) of the Learjet aircraft has been recovered.
ALSO READ: Ajit Pawar plane crash: Black-box of ill-fated aircraft recovered from accident site
