Last picture of Ajit Pawar and his PSO Vidip Jadhav, before takeoff of their flight that crashed before landing.
Credit: Special arrangement
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and four other persons were killed after an aircraft carrying them crashed in Pune district, on Wednesday morning.
Five people including Ajit Pawar died in the crash. Other four were pilot-in command, Captain Sumit Kapur, co-pilot, Captain Shambhavi Pathak, flight attendant, Pinky Mali and Pawar's security guard, Vidip Jadhav.
Both the pilots were experienced professionals with over 15,000 hours of flying under their belt. Their identities were confirmed by the aircraft operator, VSR Aviation. Pinky Mali had been closely working as Pawar's flight attendant, and used to travel with him frequently as part of his official trips.
Pinky's family is in shock with the sudden loss of their daughter. “She told me yesterday that she would be going to Baramati with Ajit dada and that from there she would head to Nanded. She said she would call me from the hotel," her father, Shiv Kumar Mali told The Times of India. "Next morning, when I switched on the TV and saw the news, my limbs started trembling," he added.
Pawar' s PSO, Vidip Jadhav was originally from Satara. He was a police constable of 2009 batch, and was currently working as a personal security officer of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. He had a family of one son, one daughter, wife, and parents.
The NCP chief's last rites are expected to be held Thursday morning.