Mumbai: A day after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) grounded four aircraft operated by VSR Ventures over serious lapses in safety and flights operations, NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar on Wednesday questioned the regulator’s earlier audit, where the firm had been given a clean chit, and demanded that all aircraft operated by the company be grounded immediately.
Pawar also tried unsuccessfully to lodge a first information report (FIR) at the Marine Drive police station, alleging negligence on the part of DGCA officials, VSR Ventures, Arrow – a company involved in aviation-related coordination in Maharashtra, and other concerned government officials had let to the fatal crash in Baramati on January 28 which killed his uncle and former NCP chief Ajit Pawar.
The aircraft involved in the crash, a Learjet 45, was owned and operated by VSR Ventures.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, the NCP (SP) MLA reiterated his demand for sacking union civil aviation minister KR Naidu. “A senior leader from the civil aviation minister’s Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has financial interest in VSR Ventures. This is the reason efforts are underway to shield the company,” he alleged.
Pawar alleged the DGCA had given a clean chit to VSR Ventures barely five hours after the fatal crash in Baramati on January 28.
“The day when post mortem was being conducted on Ajit dada’s body and the entire Maharashtra was mourning, DGCA came out with a report at 1.36pm, within hours of the plane crash, saying the last regulatory audit carried out by DGCA in February 2025 had found no level I lapses,” Pawar said. “It was the first attempt to give a clean chit to VSR.”
On Tuesday, the DGCA grounded four aircraft operated by the VSR Ventures after a special safety audit found serious lapses and non-compliances in the area of airworthiness, air safety and flight operations.
“The special safety audit was conducted because of pressure from the people of Maharashtra,” Pawar said. The regulatory body was still trying to shield VSR Ventures and its owner, Captain Vijay Kumar Singh, by grounding only four aircraft, he alleged.
“Whatever I have been saying in press conferences has now been confirmed in the special safety audit report. The DGCA has acknowledged compliance failures by VSR Ventures, but we have already lost a Marathi leader who could have become chief minister,” Pawar, nephew of the deceased Ajit Pawar, said.
He termed the DGCA’s action of grounding four aircraft operated by VSR Ventures until airworthiness standards are restored a “sham”.
“This effectively means operations will be allowed to resume once the lapses are rectified. This is nothing but eyewash,” he alleged.
Armed with a complaint quoting findings of the special safety audit, Pawar reached the Marine Drive police station on Wednesday afternoon, along with legislators from the NCP (SP) and the breakaway NCP. He urged police officers to register an FIR based on the complaint, which led to a heated exchange.
“When the police officers finally agreed to file an FIR and started recording my statement, a deputy commissioner of police (DCP) arrived at the police station and ordered that the case will not be registered,” Pawar told reporters.
The police’s refusal to register an FIR had further deepened suspicions around the plane crash that killed Ajit Pawar, he alleged.
“It clearly appears that the government and the authorities are trying to shield someone. If this continues, doubts are being raised about whether Ajit dada will ever receive justice,” he said.
The fatal crash is currently being investigated by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) and the DGCA, while the state Crime Investigation Department (CID) is also conducting a parallel probe.
While speaking to reporters, Pawar also commented on the air ambulance crash in Jharkhand’s Chatra district in which all seven passengers onboard were killed.
“The DGCA took action against Redbird Airways Pvt Ltd, which operated the air ambulance involved in the crash, the very next day. All their documents were confiscated immediately. But here, the same urgency was missing,” he alleged.