Gujarat relived a grim chapter of its political history on Thursday as Vijay Rupani, the state’s 16th chief minister from 2016 to 2021 and a BJP leader, was feared dead in the Air India AI 171 crash near Ahmedabad.
Union minister Suresh Prabhu expressed grief, calling Rupani “a dedicated public servant” whose contribution to Gujarat’s progress and national development “will always be remembered.”
"Deeply saddened to learn about the unfortunate demise of Shri Vijay Rupani ji, former Chief Minister of Gujarat, in the tragic Air India AI171 crash. A dedicated public servant, his contribution to Gujarat’s progress and national development will always be remembered," Prabhu posted on X.
If it is true, this will be the second incident involving a sitting or former Gujarat chief minister meeting this tragic fate in an air accident, a tragic echo of Balwantrai Mehta’s death six decades ago.
Rupani, 68, was among the 242 people on board the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which crashed into a residential area in Meghani Nagar five minutes after take-off.
Rupani was at the business class, seat number 12, according to passenger list released to the media.
As of now, only one survivor has been reported - a 40-year-old Indian origin British national, reports Hindustan Times.
Vishwash, a British national, was in India for a few days to visit his family and was going back to the UK along with his brother, Ajay Kumar Ramesh (45).
Eyewitnesses described a deafening explosion and rising plumes of black smoke as emergency services scrambled to contain the fire and rescue survivors.
The flight, bound for London, was under the command of Captain Sumit Sabharwal and co-pilot Clive Kunder.
Balwantrai Mehta
In September 1965, Balwantrai Mehta, Gujarat’s second CM and a staunch Gandhian, was flying a Beechcraft from Ahmedabad to Mithapur when the aircraft was shot down by the Pakistani Air Force during the Indo-Pak war.
Believing the civilian plane to be a military threat, two F-86 Sabre jets opened fire near the Rann of Kutch, killing Mehta, his wife Sarojben, aides, a journalist, and two crew members.
Though Pakistan later called it a wartime misidentification, no official apology was ever issued.
In 2011, Forty-six years later after the incident, the Pakistani fighter pilot who shot down the Beechcraft has written to the daughter of the chief pilot of the downed Indian plane, expressing regret over the incident Indian Express reported.
The incident remains one of Indian political aviation's most unsettling tragedies.
Gujarat isn’t alone in witnessing such losses. In 2009, Andhra Pradesh CM YS Rajasekhara Reddy died in a helicopter crash in the Nallamala forests, brought down by bad weather, a mechanical fault and pilot error.
In 2011, Dorjee Khandu, the CM of Arunachal Pradesh, died when his helicopter crashed into a mountainside because of weather troubles. His body was found days later at 13,700 feet, burned and wrecked in the Himalayan cold.
