FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms FREE PRESS Vol. XLII No. 232 | INDORE | THURSDAY | JANUARY 29, 2026 | Pages 16 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. 38281/83 HAPPY INDIAN NEWSPAPER DAY www.freepressjournal.in Sports Sinner sets up Djokovic showdown as Rybakina, Pegula storm into semis P.15 Dancing cop demoted Our Staff Reporter INDORE Officiating head constable Ranjit Singh, popularly known as the “dancing cop,” has been demoted to constable following a departmental enquiry on Wednesday. He is currently posted at the DRP Lines. The development comes days after a young woman from Ghaziabad made serious allegations against Singh on a social media platform, bringing the matter into public focus. However, police officials said the demotion was part of a routine departmental process and is not directly linked to any case. Following the order, there has been visible discussion within the department, with the issue drawing considerable attention. NEW DELHI Parl Budget session begins The Budget Session of Parliament got underway on Wednesday with the address of President Droupadi Murmu in which she delved on how India has navigated the path of development. ESTD-1983 iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: INDORE MONEY PM woos investors; urges them to be co-pilots in aviation sector UJJAIN PUNE BHOPAL NASHIK MUMBAI E-paper Edit The tragic end of Ajit Pawar P.6 Cinema ‘Read history & form your own perception’ P.16 TRAGIC | Aircraft crashes barely 200 metres from edge of tabletop runway, while attempting a second landing approach at Baramati airport in Pune district AJIT PAWAR, 4 OTHERS KILLED IN AIR CRASH the flight was scheduled to depart at 7 am but actually took off at 8.10 am and crashed within less than 35 minutes. nouncing that Shambhavi was among the five persons who died along with Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in a fatal airplane crash at Baramati airport in Pune. 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8 Grief grips Shambhavi Pathak’s childhood home MUMBAI A T I Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was killed on Wednesday morning when a chartered Bombardier Learjet 45XR crashed in Baramati, the pocket borough of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president, causing widespread political reverberations across the state and beyond. Four others on board the ill-fated plane, including two pilots, also lost their lives in the accident. Reports from Baramati suggested that Capt Sumit Kapur (61) could not land the 16-yearold aircraft and Scan & Watch made a second attempt, but apparently because of poor visibility it landed on the threshold of the airstrip and burst into a huge ball of flames. An eyewitness said, “l live near the air strip. I saw the plane crash and catch fire. A few neighbours and I rushed to the spot and soon were joined by the police and fire brigade. The fire was doused after some effort but its intensity was so high that all the five persons aboard were charred to death." Pawar's body was identified by the watch on his wrist. The private aircraft, regis- Nitendra Sharma BHOPAL The clause under which the SIT sought approval from the government for the prosecution of the minister, Vijay Shah, provides for three years of jail and the imposition of a fine. The SIT has sought approval for prosecution under section 196 (1) (a) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023. According to the BNS, it is necessary to take permission from the government to prosecute a public servant under clause 217 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita. This is the reason that the application seeking approval for prosecution has been lying with the government for five months. In a statement, Shah termed Colonel Sofiya Qureshi as the sister of the terrorists. The statement kicked up a row across the country. During the hearing of a petition over the issue, the high court directed the state government to register a case against Shah. When the issue reached the Supreme Court, it stopped the HC order and set up an SIT to probe the case. According to sources, the SIT concluded that Shah was at fault by issuing such a statement. Dhairya Gajara jit Dada has made a huge contribution to the development of Maharashtra and the country. He always worked proactively Narendra Modi, PM he way Ajit Pawar ji dedicated himself to the welfare of every section of society in Maharashtra over the past threeand-a-half decades cannot be expressed in words Amit Shah, Union Home Minister n this moment of grief, I stand with the people of Maharashtra. I extend my condolences to the entire Pawar family and their loved ones during this hour of sorrow Rahul Gandhi, LoP Clause under which nod to prosecute Shah sought provides for 3-year jail FP News Service GWALIOR “Good morning, Dadda…”. A simple message wishing her good morning at 6.36 am on Wednesday was the last time Meera Pathak had heard from her granddaughter Shambhavi. Over an hour later, news reports flashed across televisions an- Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s plane in flames after it crashed during landing, at Baramati in Pune district, Maharashtra on Wednesday PM speaks to Sharad Modi, Shah may attend funeral ‘No conspiracy in this’ PM Narendra Modi spoke to NCP-SP chief Sharad Pawar and expressed condolences at the death of his nephew, Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar Last rites of Ajit Pawar will be held with full state honours on Thursday in Baramati. PM and Union Home Minister Amit Shah are expected to attend the funeral It was purely an accident, said an emotional Sharad Pawar, ruling out any conspiracy in the plane crash that killed his nephew on Wednesday morning tered as VT-SSK, was operated by Delhi-based VSR Ventures and was chartered by Pawar to travel from Mumbai to Baramati, the Pawar family’s political stronghold, for a slew of public meetings for the upcoming zilla parishad elections. According to the passenger manifest from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport’s general aviation terminal,