The son of late Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar has put out a video that has stirred fresh controversy around the Baramati plane crash that killed his father in January. Jay Pawar shared the footage on social media, claiming it shows the owner of VSR Ventures asleep in the cockpit of an aircraft while it was in flight. His post has reignited calls for stricter safety checks and accountability in the charter airline’s operations.
The video sparked outrage because Pawar says it suggests “unimaginable negligence” during a flight, and he wants immediate action from aviation authorities. In emotional messages online, he asked the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to ground all VSR aircraft until a full investigation is completed and to arrest the company’s owner, Rohit Singh, for alleged safety lapses. Pawar said this demand was not just personal but about passenger safety for everyone flying with the operator.
This move comes after the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) released a preliminary report on the Baramati crash earlier this week. The DGCA had already grounded four jets belonging to VSR Ventures following a special safety audit in the aftermath of the accident, which raised concerns about compliance and maintenance procedures. Pawar has expressed disappointment with that report, saying it lacked transparency and depth and that it did not answer key questions about what went wrong.
In social posts, Jay Pawar said he could not accept what he saw in the video and called for the DGCA to treat the issue with urgency. He warned that if serious breaches in safety procedures exist, action should go beyond grounding a few aircraft and extend to the entire fleet. His statements have sparked wider debate online about aviation safety standards and regulatory oversight.
