NCP (Sharad) MLA Rohit Pawar on Saturday said he had written to Union home minister Amit Shah on February 12 seeking a “comprehensive, transparent and independent” probe into the January 28 plane crash that killed Ajit Pawar.

The demand appeared to indirectly counter the stand taken by party chief and family patriarch Sharad Pawar, who had on the day of the tragedy criticised attempts to give the crash a political colour and maintained that it was “purely an accident”.

Sharad’s remarks had come after Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee alleged a “political conspiracy” and sought a Supreme Court-monitored probe. Rohit is the grandnephew of Sharad.

While the Pawar family MLA asserted in his letter that his demand was “not political” and aimed only at establishing the truth behind the accident, the move is likely to trigger political reactions.

Rohit posted his letter to Shah on X on Saturday, underlining that he had emailed all the “doubts” regarding the accident to Shah, the civil aviation minister, Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu, and the Director General of Civil Aviation after efforts to meet them failed.

“Many doubts have arisen regarding the plane crash involving Ajitdada…On this very matter, an attempt was made to meet Home Minister Amit Shah Saheb, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Ji, as well as the DGCA, but the meeting could not take place,” Rohit wrote on X.

He added: “Consequently, along with a presentation, all our doubts were emailed…requesting a thorough and impartial investigation into this crash to bring the facts before the public. I am confident that a positive response will be received in this regard, and an objective resolution to the many questions that have troubled not just me but the entire Maharashtra will be achieved.”

Sharad Pawar and his daughter, Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule, who is the working president of the party, have so far not reacted to the probe demand raised by party MLA Rohit. The NCP faction, earlier headed by the late Ajit Pawar, has not sought an investigation into the crash so far. Ajit’s wife Sunetra Pawar has stepped into his role as deputy chief minister in the Mahayuti government led by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.

In his letter, the Karjat MLA raised several questions to press for a detailed probe. He pointed out that the same aircraft — Bombardier Learjet-45 (manufactured in 2010) — was involved in a “serious accident” at Mumbai airport on September 14, 2023, and that the final report was awaited.

He also questioned the last-minute replacement of both pilots. “On 28 January 2026, the flight scheduled for 7.00 hrs departed at 8:10:51 hours, despite records indicating early crew reporting. Both pilots were replaced at the last moment, allegedly due to traffic delays, raising serious questions regarding compliance with mandatory reporting norms and crew duty regulations,” he wrote.