Rohit Pawar, NCP (SP) MLA, has drawn attention to the involvement of VK Singh, owner and director of VSR Ventures Private Limited, in major projects in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, criticising the state government for allegedly allowing this due to Singh's political connections.
According to Pawar’s post on X, VK Singh, previously engaged only in air services with the Maharashtra government, has expanded his role to acting as an intermediary for significant projects in both states. This follows public scrutiny over a prominent Maharashtra leader’s return from journalist Rajat Sharma’s daughter’s wedding on a VSR flight.
Pawar detailed that Singh personally received the leader at the private charter terminal, handing documents directly to the leader’s personal assistant. He stated, “The Maharashtra leader, a very prominent figure, who attended the wedding reception of journalist Rajat Sharma’s daughter in Delhi, returns on a VSR flight. At the private charter terminal, that leader is received by VSR’s owner, V. K. Singh, who shakes hands with the leader and hands over some papers to the leader’s PA.”
Pawar also expressed his astonishment that the son of the deceased pilot Captain Sumit Kapoor was piloting the private charter flight for the leader, saying, “Remarkably, the son of the deceased pilot Kapoor from Ajit dada’s accident serves as the pilot of that leader’s flight. Wouldn’t all this be utterly astonishing?”
Pawar alleged that Singh is leveraging his proximity to the ruling dispensation in Maharashtra to act as a middleman for high-value infrastructure and state projects.
He emphasised that the death of his uncle and former Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in the Baramati plane crash should not be taken lightly and reiterated his demand for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe. Pawar criticised the BJP-led Maharashtra government for its silence on the issue, stating, “If this information is true, one can’t help but wonder: how much lower will the Maharashtra government stoop? It’s even more heartbreaking that the ruling party remains silent amid all this, merely awaiting the AAIB report. The expectation is that the CBI will conduct a deeper investigation into this matter.”
VSR Ventures Private Limited operates VSR Aviation, a private jet operator whose services were used by the late NCP chief Ajit Pawar. Rohit Pawar cautioned against placing trust in VSR services, saying, “I still maintain today that you shouldn’t take the Ajit Dada accident case lightly. Don’t try to back VK Singh and avoid travelling on that aircraft yourself, and take care of your own safety too. Don’t place so much trust in VSR, or else everything could turn into a major complication.”
The wedding attended by several prominent figures including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was the event from which the leader returned on the VSR flight.
In March, nearly two months after calling for an inquiry into the crash that killed Ajit Pawar, the Karnataka Police registered a Zero FIR and sought to transfer the case to the Baramati Rural Police Station due to jurisdiction. Rohit Pawar, nephew of the late Ajit Pawar, had filed the FIR in Bengaluru. The Karnataka Police subsequently handed over the FIR to Maharashtra police, who are responsible for ensuring accountability in the case.
An official communication dated March 24, signed by P Harishekaran, IPS, acting on behalf of the Director General and Inspector General of Police, Karnataka, was sent to the Maharashtra DGP requesting the FIR's transfer.
Rohit Pawar has repeatedly alleged a conspiracy behind the aircraft accident, suggesting that a “big power” is protecting VSR Ventures Private Limited, the operator of the aircraft. On March 12, he met Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, in New Delhi to reiterate his call for a thorough and impartial investigation.
Ajit Pawar died on the morning of January 28 when the Learjet 45 aircraft (VT-SSK) carrying him crash-landed near the runway at Baramati airport in Pune district. The crash resulted in the deaths of all five people on board, including Pawar, his personal security officer, a flight attendant, and two pilots. Pawar had been travelling from Mumbai to Baramati to campaign for the Zilla Panchayat elections.