Pune, Apr 6 NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar raised fresh doubts about the January 28 plane crash that killed Ajit Pawar on Monday, following allegations by activist Anjali Damania that arrested self-proclaimed spiritual leader Ashok Kharat was involved in financial transactions at a cooperative credit society.
Addressing a press conference in Mumbai earlier in the day, Damania claimed that SMS alerts related to transactions in the Samata Credit Cooperative Society showed an unusual spike around the time of the alleged accident involving Ajit Pawar, referring to the then deputy chief minister's death in a plane crash on January 28.
She alleged that 17 messages were received on January 27, followed by 19 the next day (when the crash occurred), and several more in the following days, which she claimed was not the usual pattern. According to Damania, the messages indicated deposits or withdrawals in Kharat's account.
In a post on X, Rohit Pawar said, "Serious questions are being raised after it came to light that substantial financial transactions were carried out by Ashok Kharat during the same period. Earlier, there were also reports of alleged black magic rituals outside Ajit Dada's residence."
The Karjat-Jamkhed MLA also pointed to reports of Kharat's frequent travel using VSR company's aircraft and his network of followers, asking whether there could be a connection between these developments and the fatal crash. VSR owned and operated the LearJet 45 aircraft that crashed in Baramati on January 28.
"Is there any link between these sequence of events and the accident that killed Ajit Dada and others? The truth must come out," Pawar said while calling for a comprehensive probe.
Pawar urged the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which is probing the suspected conspiracy behind the crash, to also investigate Kharat and individuals associated with him.