In the wake of the devastating Baramati air disaster that claimed Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar and four others, including young flight attendant Pinky Mali, her father’s raw pain has emerged as a poignant critique of corporate indifference. Shivkumar Mali’s revelations paint a picture of abandonment by MGR Ventures, the firm behind the doomed flight.
‘The company didn’t bother to call even once,’ Shivkumar told reporters Thursday, recounting how the family glued to TV screens pieced together the nightmare. Their world crumbled not through a gentle knock or consoling voice, but via breaking news alerts.
Pinky’s last conversation with her dad lingers like a ghost. ‘On Tuesday, she said she’d be with Ajit Dada to Baramati, then Nanded, calling from the hotel,’ he shared. That routine flight turned fatal mid-landing, leaving a void no parent should endure.
Rushing to Baramati, over 250 km away, the family found zero support. No officials, no logistics, nothing. Shivkumar fumed, ‘If not for friends, we’d have been lost. This demands probe—not just the crash, but the company’s inhumanity.’ He insists on clarity: high-speed flight, precise landing failure—why?
A former Delhi worker who fought hardships post-1989 job loss, Shivkumar had groomed Pinky through rigorous training and career climbs. Her death robs him of that shared triumph. Husband Somvikar Saini added quietly, ‘We wanted compassion, not cash. They offered neither.’
Self-reliant in grief, they managed ambulances and repatriation alone. This story spotlights aviation’s duty of care gap. As probes intensify, voices like Shivkumar’s push for mandatory family outreach protocols, ensuring no tragedy compounds with neglect. The crash’s technical mysteries linger, but the human failure stings deepest.