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Shivkumar Mali, father of flight attendant Pinky Mali who died in the plane crash that killed Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, on Tuesday alleged that the family has received little support from the government and the aircraft operator since the incident.
Speaking to reporters in Mumbai, Mali said the family is struggling to cope with the tragedy and has not received any substantial assistance or communication from authorities or the company involved. "We are not getting any real output or support from the government. I only heard that an official named Amol Sonawane from Baramati offered a cheque of Rs 5 lakh," he said. Mali also claimed that his son had received a WhatsApp call about a week ago from an unidentified person. "This happened about a week ago. My son received a call on WhatsApp. The caller was saying, 'Will you go to the media? What will they give you? They just gather TRP. Will your daughter come back? Will Ajit Dada come back? I will meet you when I come to Mumbai. I am also in pain. But what can be done, the pilot hit it like that. My son told me about all this. I don't know in what tone or context he spoke, but it was a WhatsApp call," he said. Expressing concern about speaking publicly, Mali said the family fears that raising questions might affect their compensation. "We are wondering how much we should say. It is a situation where we can neither bear the pain nor speak about it. If we say something, they get angry. Our insurance and compensation could be stopped or delayed," he said. He further alleged that no representative from the aircraft operator, VSR Ventures Pvt Ltd, has contacted or visited the family since the crash. "Our expectation was that since our daughter is gone, someone from the company would coordinate with us or talk to us. But in the month and a quarter since the incident, no one from the company has come to see us physically," he said. However, Mali said several political leaders across party lines visited the family to express condolences and offer support. "Samadhan Sarvankar was the first to arrive. Nishikant Shinde, Sachin Ahir, Sunil Shinde, Aaditya Thackeray and Arvind Sawant also visited. Most importantly, from the government, Chhagan Bhujbal came along with his son Pankaj Bhujbal and nephew Sameer Bhujbal," he said. He added that Anil Deshmukh also visited the family and offered support during the difficult period. The crash occurred on January 28 when a Learjet 45 aircraft carrying Ajit Pawar attempted to land at Baramati airport in Pune district. The aircraft crash-landed near the runway threshold, killing all five people on board. Among the deceased were Pawar, his personal security officer, flight attendant Pinky Mali and two pilots. Pawar had been travelling from Mumbai to Baramati to campaign for Zilla Panchayat elections. Meanwhile, Rohit Pawar, an MLA from the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction), recently alleged that there may have been a conspiracy behind the crash and claimed that the aircraft operator had previously been involved in safety-related controversies. He alleged that the same operator had faced security threats during a 2023 incident involving a flight carrying then Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, and claimed that "a big power" might be shielding the operator from strict action. Following the crash, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) constituted a multidisciplinary audit team to examine the operations of the aircraft operator. The audit reportedly found several non-compliances with approved procedures in areas such as airworthiness, air safety and flight operations. The aviation regulator subsequently ordered a special safety audit of the company to examine operational practices and compliance with aviation safety standards. (ANI)
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