The death of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in a plane crash near Baramati has once again drawn attention to a sombre chapter in India’s political history: the loss of senior public figures in air accidents. Dorjee Khandu (2011) Dorjee Khandu, then Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, died in a helicopter crash on 30 April 2011, while flying through remote mountainous terrain near Tawang. Also Read | Maharashtra Dy CM Ajit Pawar, others die in Baramati plane crashThe helicopter was flying from Delhi to Chandigarh. G. M. C. Balayogi (2002) G. M. C. Balayogi, then Speaker of the Lok Sabha, died in a Bell 206 helicopter crash in Krishna district, Andhra Pradesh, on 3 March 2002. General Bipin Rawat (2021) India’s first Chief of Defence Staff, Bipin Rawat, and his wife Madhulika Rawat were killed in a Mi-17V5 helicopter crash near Coonoor, Tamil Nadu, on 8 December 2021.

Source: Mint January 28, 2026 07:19 UTC