VSR Ventures

The company was founded in 2009. At its inception was pilot Vikram Vir Singh, who previously worked as Director of Aviation for the Bharat Hotels chain and later for Air Charter Services. The initial fleet consisted of one Pilatus aircraft and one Beechcraft B200. == Fleet ==

As of early 2026, according to the official PIB release, VSR Ventures' fleet consists of 17 aircraft. == Accidents and incidents ==

The VT-DBL incident in Mumbai (2023) On September 14, 2023, a Learjet 45 aircraft registered as VT-DBL, operating a flight from Visakhapatnam to Mumbai, suffered an accident while landing at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. During the approach to runway 27 in heavy rain and poor visibility, the autopilot disconnected 40 seconds before touchdown, after which "stall" and "terrain" warnings sounded in the cockpit. The aircraft veered right of the runway and made a hard landing at the intersection of taxiways W and N, resulting in its destruction. On board were 2 crew members and 6 passengers. Pawar cited this incident as confirmation of systematic and gross violations by the company. == Scandals ==

EASA Sanctions In December 2024, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) suspended the Third Country Operator (TCO) certificate for VSR Ventures. He also demanded action against the owner of VSR and DGCA officials, accused leaders of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) of having financial links with the company and trying to protect it, and called for the resignation of Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu. Raut also linked the Telugu Desam Party and Minister Naidu to VSR and suggested that one of the company's aircraft might belong to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. A spokesperson for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Navnath Ban, rejected the allegations against the Chief Minister, demanding an apology and evidence from Raut, and threatening legal action. In early March 2026, Jay Pawar released a video allegedly showing the VSR owner's son, Rohit Singh, sleeping in the pilot's seat during a flight. He demanded Singh's arrest and the complete suspension of the company's certificate. On March 4, 2026, Rohit Pawar claimed there were familial ties between the VSR owner and Minister Naidu, and pointed to company investments inflated by 17 crore rupees in an upscale Hyderabad area as possible financial irregularities. He also stated that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the company was banned in the United Arab Emirates for six months for extorting money from patients. On March 5, 2026, Rohit Pawar presented new allegations: the company may have underreported flight hours to delay maintenance, leading to aircraft being operated beyond safe limits, and its rapid growth (from 10 to 500 crore rupees in nine years) might have been fueled by investments from shell companies. He also claimed that VSR owner V. K. Singh threatened his team, citing his connections "from top to bottom". On March 5, 2026, VSR Ventures owner V. K. Singh was summoned for questioning by the Maharashtra Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in connection with the Baramati crash investigation. The questioning took place in Pune, with CID officials recording Singh's statement. Initially registered as an accident, the case is now also exploring possibilities of potential sabotage or criminal negligence that may have led to the deaths of Ajit Pawar and four others. On March 13, 2026, Rohit Pawar leveled serious allegations against VSR Ventures owner V. K. Singh. In a post on his X account, he claimed that Singh was attempting to bribe several DGCA officials to edit the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) data from the aircraft that crashed in Baramati. The same day, another politician, Amol Mitkari from the NCP faction once led by Ajit Pawar, made a statement. He told reporters that, according to his information, V. K. Singh had taken a contract from the underworld to murder VIPs and politicians in Maharashtra. == References ==