Massive Crowd Gathers To Pay Last Respects To Ajit Pawar; Union Ministers Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari Attend

A massive crowd of mourners thronged Baramati on Thursday morning to pay their last respects to their beloved leader, Ajit Pawar, who died in a plane crash.

Grief-stricken people from near and far places made a beeline, chanting slogans such as "Ajit Dada Amar Rahe" and "Ajit Dada Parat Ya". "A leader like him will not be born again," several mourners said, lauding his role in the state's development.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and several other prominent personalities attended the funeral.

Pawar (66) was killed on Wednesday morning after the chartered Learjet crashed near the Baramati airstrip. Two pilots, a flight attendant and a personal security officer were also killed in the accident.

On Thursday morning, the mortal remains of Pawar were brought from the Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Hospital in Baramati, where they were kept overnight, to his Katewadi village near Baramati.

The last rites would be performed at the sports ground of Vidya Pratishthan in Baramati around 11 am.

Meanwhile, the police have registered an accidental death report (ADR) case in connection with the plane crash.

As per procedure, the ADR will be handed over to the Maharashtra Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which will conduct a probe based on findings of the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB)'s inquiry.

The AAIB, which functions under the Ministry of Civil Aviation, has already taken over the probe into the crash.