New Delhi: Yoga guru Baba Ramdev has sparked controversy by alleging a foreign conspiracy involving a Turkish agency behind the tragic Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad that killed 274 people.
On June 14, 2025, Ramdev told ANI that a Turkish agency, previously responsible for the maintenance of the crashed Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, might have orchestrated the disaster. The Air India flight AI-171, bound for London, plummeted into a medical college hostel in Ahmedabad’s Meghani Nagar on June 12, just 33 seconds after takeoff, killing 241 passengers and crew and 33 people on the ground.
Ramdev claimed, “I got to know that an agency from Türkiye used to take care of the maintenance and service of the aircraft. There is a possibility of a conspiracy by that agency.” He urged India to curb foreign involvement in aviation, citing national security. His remarks follow the recent termination of contracts with Turkish firm Celebi by Adani Airport Holdings at Mumbai and Ahmedabad airports, prompted by the Indian government revoking Celebi’s security clearance over geopolitical concerns.
No evidence supports Ramdev’s claims, and aviation experts have dismissed them as speculative. Captain Anil Gill, a former DGCA official, told PTI, “Such allegations need concrete proof. Maintenance issues alone don’t explain a crash of this magnitude.” The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), aided by the US National Transportation Safety Board, is probing the incident, with the black box recovered on June 13.
The controversy has stirred debate, with some X posts echoing Ramdev’s suspicions and others critiquing his remarks as baseless. The high-level probe, led by Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, aims to deliver findings within three months, amid heightened scrutiny of India’s aviation safety protocols.
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