Mumbai, 29 January: The tragic plane crash in Baramati on 28 January has shaken the political landscape and left several families devastated. Among the five victims was Pinky Mali, a flight attendant, who lost her life alongside Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.
Pinky Mali’s father, Shivkumar Mali, expressed his deep anguish on Thursday, revealing that the airline company operating the flight, MGR Ventures, had not contacted the family even once after the accident. The family learned about their daughter’s death through news broadcasts.
Shivkumar Mali said, “I spoke to my daughter the day before. She told me she was travelling with Ajit Dada to Baramati, after which she would go to Nanded and call me from the hotel. But then this tragic incident happened.”
He added that despite the fatal accident claiming the lives of both his daughter and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, the airline did not find it necessary to inform the family personally. “When we reached Baramati, there was no coordination, no official or company representative present. We learnt about my daughter’s death only through television. This is not just negligence but inhuman behaviour,” he said.
Shivkumar criticised the airline’s failure to fulfil its basic responsibility of informing and supporting victims’ families. “The company should have been the first to contact us, provide reassurance, and assist in every possible way. Instead, we were left to manage everything on our own,” he said.
He also voiced anger over the lack of support, stating, “I reached Baramati through friends. If it had been someone else, managing travel, expenses, and bringing back the body without any ambulance or coordination would have been impossible. The airline gave us no information. This matter must be investigated. The distance from Mumbai to Baramati is over 250 km. This was a high-speed flight — why did the accident happen during landing? The cause needs to be determined.”
Emotionally, Shivkumar said, “I need to know why my daughter died. As parents, our duty is to educate our children. I used to share my struggles with her back in 1989 when I lost my job in Delhi. After years of training and promotion, she had reached this position.”
Pinky’s husband, Somvikar Saini, also spoke calmly but with pain. He said the family was not looking for financial aid but simply some human empathy. “Even after so many days, there was no call, message, or representative from the company. We had to go to Baramati ourselves, where there was no coordination, no official present. We had to arrange the ambulance and other logistics alone,” he said.
This incident highlights the need for airlines and companies involved in such tragedies to uphold their responsibilities towards victims’ families by ensuring timely communication and support.