Kamal Ghorui
THANE: Vidip Jadhav, a personal security officer attached to Maharashtra deputy chief minister ajit pawar, was among those who died following the aircraft crash in Baramati on Wednesday. Jadhav was travelling on the Learjet 45 along with Pawar, an attendant Pinky Mali, and two crew members — Captain Sumit Kapur and Captain Shambhavi Pathak — when the aircraft crash-landed during a second landing attempt.As news of Vidip Jadhav’s death reached his neighbourhood in Vitawa, located in Thane’s Kalwa area, a pall of gloom descended on the locality.
Jadhav lived in Vitawa with his family and is survived by his aged parents, a 14-year-old daughter and a nine-year-old son. His house remained locked on Wednesday as his parents had travelled to their native place.Neighbours remembered Jadhav as a warm, gentle and deeply respectful person. Shruti Wadekar, who had known him for over 22 years, said she addressed him as “Dada” and described him as loving and soft-spoken. “I saw him leave for work around 6.30am. Barely two hours later, we heard he was no more. I never thought this would happen,” she said, visibly shaken.Another neighbour, who had known Jadhav for nearly 27 years, recalled a fleeting yet haunting moment from the morning of the tragedy. As Jadhav left for duty, he waved in his usual friendly manner — a routine exchange that had happened countless times before. “It never crossed our minds that this would be the last time we saw him,” the neighbour said. “That wave keeps replaying in my head.”The lane leading to Krushna Vihar stood silent through the day, reflecting the grief of a neighbourhood mourning a man remembered not just for his duty, but for the quiet kindness he carried into everyday life.
