Mumbai, March 24 NCP MLA Rohit Pawar said on Tuesday that he had to file a 'zero FIR' in Karnataka because the police in Maharashtra did not register a case on his complaint regarding the Baramati air crash that claimed the life of then deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, and questioned the delay in handing over the investigation to the CBI.
Initiating a debate in the Maharashtra assembly, Pawar said he approached the Marine Drive police station in Mumbai, the Baramati police, and the Crime Investigation Department of the Maharashtra Police, but no FIR was registered.
"Despite approaching multiple police stations and agencies in Maharashtra, no FIR was registered. I had to go to Karnataka, where a 'zero FIR' was registered, and it was transferred to the Maharashtra Director General of Police this morning. Will the government act on it now?" he asked.
Referring to a recent case where a zero FIR was registered in Karnataka over an alleged insult to Justice Bhushan Gawai in Delhi, Pawar said the same mechanism had to be used in Ajit Pawar's case due to the inaction of the Maharashtra Police.
Police can register a zero First Information Report when the crime has not taken place under their jurisdiction, and transfer it to the appropriate police station.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had written a detailed letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah flagging concerns over the January 28 air crash in Baramati, but "there has been no response and no action so far," the NCP (SP) legislator further alleged.
A request was made to the Central Bureau of Investigation 35 days ago, but the agency was yet to take up the case, Pawar said.
"In the (actor) Sushant Singh Rajput case, the Bihar government requested a CBI probe and the Union government handed it over to the agency the very next day. Why can't the same efficiency be shown in Ajit Pawar's case?" he asked.
There was a deliberate attempt to suppress facts, and a leader of Ajit Pawar's stature, who served the state for over 22 years, was yet to get justice, said Rohit Pawar, the late NCP chief's nephew.
MLAs of the Ajit Pawar-led NCP (now led by Ajit's wife, deputy chief minister Sunetra Pawar) were more concerned about "funds and power" than seeking justice, said Rohit.
"Except for MLA Chetan Tupe, not a single member of his party spoke up. These MLAs left Sharad Pawar citing lack of funds (for their constituencies) and said they wanted to work under Ajit Pawar. Now they are silent. Is power more important than the man who made them MLAs?" Rohit Pawar asked.
Raising questions over the aviation firm VSR Aviation, Pawar alleged that its Learjet 45 aircraft, which crashed in Baramati with Ajit Pawar and four others on board, was in poor condition and "would not even pass as scrap".
A government tender in 2023 for buying a new aircraft was cancelled after the company's owner, V K Singh, created a ruckus in Mantralaya (state secretariat) as his firm was ineligible due to prior accident history, he alleged.
"Had new planes been bought, Ajit Pawar would have been alive today," Pawar said.
During then chief minister Eknath Shinde's Davos visit, an aircraft operated by the same company nearly came under threat in Iran-Iraq airspace due to the lack of proper flight permissions, the MLA further claimed.
Pawar urged Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who also holds the home portfolio, and his deputies Eknath Shinde and Sunetra Pawar to ensure there is no further delay in the probe.
Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar supported Rohit Pawar, saying that even a primary FIR was not registered after the fatal aviation accident.
NCP (SP) MLA Jitendra Awhad said the refusal to register an FIR violated Supreme Court guidelines.
"The Supreme Court has clearly ruled that police must register an FIR if a complaint is made. There is no restriction of jurisdiction," Awhad said.