Questions emerge over father's role

Operator ignored request to re-route flight, relented after calls from police, another operator

- Shrinivas Deshpande

PUNE: A chartered flight carrying Rushiraj Sawant, son of Shiv Sena MLA and former minister Tanaji Sawant, was redirected back to Pune under dramatic circumstances after a series of urgent requests and police intervention, officials from Bajaj Aviation Private Limited confirmed on Tuesday.

The incident began when the flight operator received a call from Sawant's lawyer, requesting that the aircraft, which was en route to Bangkok, be turned around. The operator, citing a surge in recent hoax calls related to flight threats, initially dismissed the request. However, the situation escalated after further calls from another aviation operator in Mumbai and a high-ranking Pune police official.

According to aviation officials, Sawant's family, realising their request was being ignored, sought assistance from another operator in Mumbai, who then reached out to the chartered flight service.

During a conference call involving Pune's joint commissioner of Police Ranjan Kumar Sharma, the operator was asked to verify the officer's identity. After confirming the legitimacy of the police complaint, the operator agreed to act, citing legal obligations.

"We initially dismissed the request because of the frequent hoax calls we receive," an executive from the aviation firm said, requesting anonymity.

"However, when a senior police official intervened and confirmed the legitimacy of the complaint, we had no choice but to comply."

The initial plan was to reroute the flight to Kolkata while it was over the Bay of Bengal. However, due to operational feasibility and fuel considerations, the aircraft was ultimately directed back to Pune with police authorisation.

According to Police officers, the flight had been booked for a one-way journey to Bangkok, with a payment of ₹ 65 lakh made on February 9.