Gujarat's former Chief Minister, Vijay Rupani, lost his life in the tragic Ahmedabad to London plane crash that claimed over two hundred lives. A picture of the former CM onboard the Boeing 787 Dreamliner took over social media a few hours after the plane crashed. The London-bound Air India flight crashed within a few minutes of take-off in Meghani Nagar.
Vijay Rupani served as Gujarat's 16th Chief Minister from 2016 to 2021. Not just Gujarat, the whole nation is mourning the loss of the former Gujarat CM who was known as the silent but persistent leader. However, he was not the only leader who lost his life in a plane crash. History has often seen ministers losing their lives in tragic plane crashes.
Madhavrao Scindia: Madhavrao Scindia was killed in a tragic plane crash in September, 2001. The Maharaja of Gwalior passed away at the age of 56. Madhavrao's plane caught fire due to a technical glitch and fell down completely charred in Motta village of Uttar Pradesh. He was going to attend a rally in Kanpur when the plane crash took his life.
YS Rajashekhar Reddy: The 14th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh lost his life in a plane crash in September 2009. He was travelling in his helicopter when the air traffic controllers lost contact with the aircraft. He was flying over the Nallamala forest when the accident happened. Bad weather is said to have caused the plane to crash. However, conspiracy theorists claim that his plane was shot down by Naxals. The bodies were later identified in charred state.
Balwantrai Mehta: Back in 1965, Gujarat's second CM lost his life with Pakistani air force shot down his plane. He was travelling with his wife, crew and a few reporters. This was during the Indo-Pak war. The Pakistani air force mistook the plane for a military threat and shot it down. He was flying a Beechcraft from Ahmedabad to Mithapur when his plane was shot down.
Dorjee Khandu: The Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh from 2007 to 2011, passed away in a tragic plane crash. It was on 30 April, 2011, when Khandu's helicopter flying from Tawang to Itanagar disappeared. It took four days for Indian Army, police, SSB and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police and locals to find the remnants of the plane that crashed.
