Mumbai: NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar on Friday highlighted the intersection of private aviation, political heavyweights, and lambasted the Maharashtra government for allegedly accommodating VK Singh, the owner and director of VSR Ventures Private Limited, as an "intermediary for major projects" in the state.
Rohit Pawar's Tweet
"VK Singh, whose dealings were previously limited only to air services with the Maharashtra government, was acting as an intermediary/broker for major projects in Andhra Pradesh due to his financial ties with leaders there. In the same way, new information is emerging that he is now playing the role of intermediary/broker for major projects in Maharashtra as well," Pawar posted on X.
This comes after the optics of a prominent Maharashtra leader returning from Rajat Sharma's daughter's wedding on a VSR flight sparked intense scrutiny. Rohit Pawar alleged VK Singh personally received the leader at the private terminal and documents being handed directly to the leader's Personal Assistant (PA).
"The Maharashtra leader, a very prominent figure, who attended the wedding reception of journalist Rajat Sharma's daughter in Delhi, returns on a VSR flight. At the private charter terminal, that leader is received by VSR's owner, V. K. Singh, who shakes hands with the leader and hands over some papers to the leader's PA," said Rohit.
He expressed shock over the son of the deceased pilot, Captain Sumit Kapoor, piloting the private charter for the said leader. "Remarkably, the son of the deceased pilot Kapoor from Ajit dada's accident serves as the pilot of that leader's flight. Wouldn't all this be utterly astonishing?" he added.
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He said that the Singh is now leveraging his proximity to the ruling dispensation in Maharashtra to act as a middleman for high-value infrastructure and state projects.
Maintaining that the death of his uncle and former Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar shouldn't be taken "lightly", the NCP (SP) leader reiterated demands for an investigation into the matter by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
He further questioned the BJP-led government in the state for its silence on the issue of Ajit Pawar's demise in the Baramati plane crash and said, "If this information is true, one can't help but wonder: how much lower will the Maharashtra government stoop? It's even more heartbreaking that the ruling party remains silent amid all this, merely awaiting the AAIB report. The expectation is that the CBI will conduct a deeper investigation into this matter."
The VSR Ventures Private Limited operates VSR Aviation, a private jet operator, whose services were availed by the late NCP chief Ajit Pawar.
"I still maintain today that you shouldn't take the Ajit Dada accident case lightly. Don't try to back VK Singh and avoid travelling on that aircraft yourself, and take care of your own safety too. Don't place so much trust in VSR, or else everything could turn into a major complication," he added.
Several prominent political leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, attended the wedding. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was also present.
Earlier in March, nearly two months after demanding an investigation into the Baramati plane crash that killed Ajit Pawar, the Karnataka Police registered a Zero FIR and requested the transfer of the case to the Baramati Rural Police Station in Pune district of Maharashtra "on the point of jurisdiction".
Rohit Pawar, nephew of the late Ajit Pawar, registered the FIR at the High Grounds Police Station in Bengaluru. He said that the Karnataka Police have "handed over" the FIR to the Maharashtra Police, who, he added, had the onus to ensure the accused in the plane crash incident were punished.
An official letter, signed by P Harishekaran, IPS, acting on behalf of the Director General and Inspector General of Police, Karnataka, was sent on March 24 to the Maharashtra DGP. The letter outlined the need for the transfer of the Zero FIR to the Baramati Rural Police Station.
An official letter, signed by P Harishekaran, IPS, acting on behalf of the Director General and Inspector General of Police, Karnataka, was sent on March 24 to the Maharashtra DGP. The letter outlined the need for the transfer of the Zero FIR to the Baramati Rural Police Station.
Rohit Pawar has repeatedly alleged a potential conspiracy behind the accident involving the plane carrying Ajit Pawar, claiming that a "big power" is shielding VSR Ventures Pvt Ltd, the aircraft operator.
On March 12, Pawar met the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, in the national capital, reiterating the demand for a fair investigation into the Ajit Pawar plane crash case.
Ajit Pawar died on the morning of January 28 when the Learjet 45 aircraft (VT-SSK) carrying him crash-landed while attempting to land at Baramati airport in Pune district. The aircraft went down near the runway threshold, killing all five people on board.
Among the deceased were Pawar, his personal security officer, a flight attendant, and two pilots. He was travelling from Mumbai to Baramati to campaign for the Zilla Panchayat elections.
(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
