Air India plane crash: Baba Ramdev points to ‘foreign conspiracy', mentions Turkish agency
Two days after an Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad claimed over 260 lives, Yoga guru Baba Ramdev on Saturday suspected a possible 'foreign conspiracy', alleging the involvement of a Turkish maintenance agency whose contract with Indian airports was terminated last month.
'I got to know that an agency from Turkiye used to take care of the maintenance and service of the aircraft. India will have to keep a close eye on the aviation sector,' Ramdev told ANI news agency. 'There is a possibility of a conspiracy by that agency.'
Without providing any evidence for his claims, Ramdev said that India must stop allowing foreign companies to interfere in such sensitive matters.
Air India's London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner (AI 171) flight crashed into a medical hostel complex in Ahmedabad's Meghaninagar on June 12, moments after taking off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport.
Also Read | Teen who recorded viral Air India crash video 'very scared', records statement
About 260 people were killed, including the 241 out of 242 passengers and crew on board the aircraft.
Last month, the Centre had revoked security clearance for a Turkish firm -- "Celebi Aviation" -- that took care of operations at nine key Indian airports, including Delhi, citing national security concerns.
The government had also asked IndiGo to end its aircraft lease agreement with Turkish Airlines within three months.
Also Read | 'Mayday call, then altitude loss in seconds': What govt said on Air India crash
The steps came after Turkey had taken Pakistan's side during India's Operation Sindoor, which came in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 civilians, most of them tourists, were killed.
Celebi provided ground-based services at nine airports across India – Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Cochin, Kannur, Chennai, and the MOPA airport in Goa. Its services include passenger handling, baggage processing, aircraft loading, cargo management, and ramp services. The company also runs one of Delhi airport's two cargo terminals as a joint venture with the airport operator.
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