Small fish arrested, big sharks at large: Rohit Pawar on CBI nabbing DGCA official
The NCP(SP) legislator has repeated his allegation that pilot flying hours were falsified to meet regulatory requirements and claimed that the Cockpit Voice Recorders (CVRs) were deliberately tampered with or silenced through backroom payments to avoid exposing safety lapses.
Mumbai: Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP-SP) legislator Rohit Pawar on Monday claimed that the arrest of the Deputy Director of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA’s) Airworthiness Department by CBI and registration of FIR has exposed the presence of many corrupt officers.
He stated that the arrested person is just a small fish and there are much bigger fish in this organisation.
In his post on X, Rohit Pawar, who has been pursuing his demand for the registration of FIR, CBI probe and action against DGCA officers in connection with the plane crash in which former Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar died, said, “The CBI has arrested the Deputy Director of DGCA’s Airworthiness Department, and an FIR has been registered.
We have been repeatedly pointing out that there are many corrupt officers in DGCA, and this incident has proven it. The arrested person is just a small fish; there are much bigger fish in this organisation.”
He further said, “If work in DGCA is being done by giving bribes, then one can easily imagine in what manner V K Singh – who is highly skilled in giving bribes and acting as a middleman – must have “cleaned up” the documents related to Dada’s accident.”
“On one hand, two months have passed since the request was made to hand over the investigation of Ajit Dada’s accident to the CBI, but the CBI has still not taken up the case. On the other hand, the CBI is taking suo motu (self-initiated) action in this matter, which is quite notable. Perhaps this was an indirect message or warning to the TDP ministry, which is why, setting aside regional sentiments, the TDP is strictly following the Central Government’s orders on the delimitation issue,” he claimed.
Rohit Pawar has been at the forefront of raising concerns regarding systemic corruption within the DGCA and the safety protocols of the private charter involved. He has explicitly stated that he suspects sabotage played a role in the crash. His allegations focus on a “disturbing web of corruption” involving the charter operator, VSR Ventures, and DGCA officials.
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The NCP(SP) legislator has repeated his allegation that pilot flying hours were falsified to meet regulatory requirements and claimed that the Cockpit Voice Recorders (CVRs) were deliberately tampered with or silenced through backroom payments to avoid exposing safety lapses.
Rohit Pawar has questioned how the aircraft, a Learjet 45, was cleared for flight despite reports of previous technical issues and alleged financial irregularities within the operator’s management. He wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Civil Aviation Minister K. Rammohan Naidu, demanding a comprehensive and transparent probe.
Pawar prepared a detailed presentation highlighting the inconsistencies in the official account of the crash, which he submitted to the Home Ministry and the DGCA.
