Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP leader Ajit Pawar will be cremated today in Baramati with full state honours. The funeral ceremony is scheduled at Vidya Pratishthan ground, where leaders from across parties and thousands of supporters are expected to gather.
Three-Day State Mourning as Ajit Pawar’s Last Journey Takes Place
Baramati: The last rites of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Ajit Pawar will be performed with full state honours in Baramati, Pune district, on Thursday. The funeral ceremony will take place at 11 am at the Vidya Pratishthan grounds. A large number of people and party workers have arrived in the city, not only from Baramati but also from various parts of the state, to pay their last respects. An atmosphere of grief and condolences prevails in Baramati, the stronghold of the politically influential Pawar family.
According to the Maharashtra General Administration Department (Protocol), a three-day state mourning has been declared in the state following the demise of Ajit Pawar. During this period, the national flag will fly at half-mast on government buildings where it is regularly flown. No government entertainment events will be held during the mourning period. According to the NCP, senior leaders from all parties are arriving in Baramati to pay their respects. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah are also expected to attend the ceremony.
A Learjet plane crashed near Baramati Airport on Wednesday morning. According to villagers, the plane burst into flames about 200 meters from the runway, scattering debris everywhere. A total of five people, including Ajit Pawar, died in the accident. Following the accident, panic gripped the area, and a large number of people rushed to the scene.
Eyewitnesses claim that Ajit Pawar's body was identified from the charred debris after the accident by the watch he was wearing on his wrist. A video in this regard went viral on social media, showing a person pointing to the watch and identifying the body as Ajit Pawar's.
Police have registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR) in the Baramati plane crash case. According to the Pune Rural Police, the case will now be handed over to the Maharashtra CID, which will conduct further investigations based on the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) report, as per the established procedure. The post-mortems of the pilots, Captain Sumit Kapoor and Captain Shambhavi Pathak, who died in the accident, were conducted at Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar Government Medical College in Baramati, after which their bodies were handed over to their families.
Ajit Pawar's body will be kept for public viewing first at Vidya Pratishthan and then at his native village, Kotewadi. His funeral procession will then begin from the Vidya Pratishthan campus, passing through major city roads, and reach the cremation ground. All state government ministers and members of the Pawar family will attend the funeral.
