CM Devendra Fadnavis’s ‘heavy’ chopper sheds his cook to fly

After a crash-landing at Latur, a providential escape at Alibaug and a snag at Gadchiroli, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’ helicopter had another scare at Nashik where it was forced to land due to overloading. The Chief Minister’s cook, it seems, was the one asked to alight to lighten the load.

Fadnavis, who was heading to Aurangabad from Nashik, had taken off from the police parade grounds on Saturday morning when the helicopter was forced to land almost immediately. The six-seater took off again for its destination after a passenger was offloaded. Fadnavis had flown from Mumbai to Dhule on Friday and then left for Nandurbar for events including the horse fair at Sarangkheda.

He had returned to Nashik by road at night and was leaving for Aurangabad.

He was accompanied by Water Resources and Medical Education Minister Girish Mahajan, who is also Nashik’s guardian minister, his personal assistant Abhimanyu Pawar and an aide named Satish.

“After taking off, the helicopter did not stabilise. This forced the pilot to land again and offload a passenger,” said a senior state government official present at the spot. It seems it was Satish, who doubles as Fadnavis’ cook, who was made to alight.

“The excess weight could have been …read more