Ex-Mantri’s ‘Kidnapped’ Son Tracked on Jet En Route to Bangkok | InFocus Episode 9 | Jist

Shiv Sena leader Tanaji Sawant showed what a politically well-connected father can do if he suspects that his 32-year-old son has been kidnapped.

On 10th February, Sawant's younger son Rushiraj took off on a chartered flight to Bangkok from Pune. Rushiraj was accompanied by his two friends and he had switched off his telephone.

In Pune, when Tanaji Sawant found that his son was 'unreachable', he went to Pune's Joint Commissioner of Police and lodged a complaint. He apparently also contacted the Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy CM Eknath Sinde and Union minister Murlidhar Mohol.

Authorities were alerted and it came to light that the former minister's son was on his way to Bangkok.

Through the flight operator, the pilot was contacted and ordered to divert the flight back to Pune. The aircraft was over Andaman Islands when it turned back. But the pilot did so without informing the three passengers.

The flight, carrrying Rushiraj and his two friends, had left Pune at 4:35 pm and by around 8:45 pm, it had reached its 'destination'.

The occupants believed they had touched down at Bangkok. But to their surprise, as the aircraft's door opened, they found they were back in Pune.

Rushiraj confronted the pilot, who told him he had 'orders' to divert the plane. When questioned by the police, Rushiraj said he was going to Bangkok on a business trip.

So why did Tanaji Sawant press the panic button? And why did he pull all levers to get his son's flight diverted? These are questions that even the DGCA wants answered.