Tearful adieu to Ajit Pawar, laid to rest with state honours, activists shout slogans

MUMBAI: Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, who was killed in a plane crash at Baramati, has been laid to rest. Thousands of his supporters gathered ahead of the funeral procession that began at 9 am and ended at the Vidya Pratishthan Grounds in Baramati.

Thousands paid their last respects shouting ‘Ajit Dada Amar Rahe’. Party activists and supporters thronged the Ahilyabai Holkar Hospital where his body was kept and, in the grounds, where his last rites were held.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis deputy chief minister Eknath Shine, senior NCP (SP) leader Sharad Pawar, leaders of various political parties and other dignitaries attended his funeral.

The bodies of the other four who died along with Ajit Pawar have been handed over to their families after the postmortem. Pilot captain Sumit Kapur, co-pilot Shambhavi Pathak, flight attendant Pinky Mali and security officer Vidhip Jadav are the other four dead.

The plane carrying Ajit Pawar crashed Wednesday morning at Baramati in Maharashtra. The aircraft met with the accident while heading towards Baramati from Mumbai. The accident happened at the airstrip in Baramati near Pune.