Why is Yogi Govt. protecting this corrupt pilot, whose wealth runs into hundreds of crores ?

Lucknow, 29 June, Lok Bhawan is abuzz with unusual activities because CM Yogi is very upset to know that his close advisors misled him in the matter of his own pilot, Capt. Pragyesh Misra. The recent punitive actions taken by DGCA & BCAS against Misra have caused major embarrassment to Yogi Govt.
Advisors of CM Yogi, who have been steering his government in Uttar Pradesh, have failed in protecting Capt. Misra because several skeletons of him have suddenly tumbled out of his cupboard. Delhi based Kalchakra Investigative News Bureau (Jain Hawala Case fame) claims to have accessed authentic information about over 200 shell companies, in which Capt. Misra and his family members have parked hundreds of crores of rupees. The matter is being investigated by ED. Capt. Misra made this huge wealth due to his close proximity to successive Chief Ministers of UP. It is reliably learnt that this money also belongs to several top bureaucrats and politicians, who are very jittery now and using their might to somehow protect Capt. Misra.

Advisors of CM Yogi who have been steering his government in Uttar Pradesh, have failed in protecting a known corrupt pilot of the state’s Civil Aviation Department (CAD). An appointee of pilot turned Cabinet Secy. in BSP Govt. Late Shashank Shekhar, Capt. Pragyesh Misra, till recently was posted as the Operations Manager of the UP CAD. He was managing this position for two decades due to his very close proximity with the successive CMs, senior politicians and bureaucrats.

Being the son of a retired and influential UP bureaucrat, Capt. Misra till last week had never expected a jolt in his ‘well-greased & connected’ career. Although in the past too he was removed for some time due to allegations of disproportionate assets but was again reinstated by the then SP Govt.

Termination of Airport Entry Pass

In a major shock to his patrons, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), GoI, has terminated the Airport Entry Pass (AEP) of Capt. Misra on a complaint filed by Rajneesh Kapur of Kalchakra Investigative News Bureau, New Delhi, for concealment of the facts related to his dubious past.

The AEP is a document mandatory for pilots and crew to enter any airport. It is issued by the BCAS, after a detailed declaration by the applicant as the airports are high security risk areas. It is mandatory for every candidate to submit his appointment letter and also give details about any / every pending court cases / FIRs. It is surprisingly how Capt. Misra, managed to flaunt these strict rules and obtained the pass ?

His appointment with the UP CAD was also done without following the laid procedure. It was just like a ‘walk-in’ job for him due to his father’s friendship with Shashank Shekhar. So while filling the application for the AEP, Capt. Misra withheld the information regarding his appointment & pending cases of disproportionate assets and FIRs too.

On 9th January, 2020, Kapur, wrote to DG, BCAS, complaining about these violations by Capt. Mishra. Based on his complaint, the BCAS initiated an investigation against Misra and found that all allegations were true. As a result Capt Mishra’s AEP was terminated on 27th May, 2020.

Violations of DGCA Safety Norms

If this was not enough, on 10th June 2020, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), in an ongoing investigation against Capt. Misra, has suspended his pilot’s license for a period of six months. As per the complaint given to the DGCA, Capt. Misra, on 25th October 2019, illegally acted as an instructor on a SKA B200 aircraft without having any ratings of a qualified instructor on fixed wing aircrafts.

On 30th December 2019, a DGCA team went to Lucknow to investigate the incident of 25th October 2019. The statements of three pilots onboard were recorded. Following the basic principles of investigation, audio of the Cockpit Voice Recorded (CVR) and the statements of the pilots should be tallied. There were only three people, including Capt. Misra present in the aircraft and two of them confirmed the incident.

It is learnt from our sources in CM’s office that Capt. Misra used all his high level connections to influences the investigation but DGCA did not succumb to any pressure. However, Capt. Misra has been given the minimum possible punishment. His another major crime on the same flight has been overlooked.

Mixed Fleet Flying

Interestingly, Capt. Misra has valid licenses to fly helicopters (Rotary Wing) and regular aircraft (Fixed Wing Aircrafts). However, Capt. Misra was appointed in the UP CAD, to fly only helicopters. Whereas, he has been flying regular aircrafts as well. This is in gross violation to UP aviation rules, as it is mandatory for a pilot to confine himself to flying one type of aircraft only i.e. Fixed Wing or Rotatory wing. In this regard DGCA in a response to a RTI had also made it clear that no written order or permission has ever been given to do such mixed fleet flying.

According to a civil aviation expert, a pilot flying two different types of aircrafts, even though he possesses both licenses, is a very dangerous practice. He adds that, “Both these types of aircrafts work on different aerodynamics. At the time of flying and particularly during critical situations, the difference, can cause conflict and confusion in the mind of a pilot, which can lead to a major disaster.” Imagine such a situation when the CM or any other VVIP is on board. The obvious reason for his flying both type of aircraft’s is that he did not allow other Pilots to fly CM and other VIPs.

To further highlight the gravity of associated risks, Capt. Misra has been flying four aircrafts, that are two variants of helicopter Bell 412 (Conventional) / Bell 412 EPI (Glass Cockpit) and two variants of Super King Air Aeroplane B200 (Conventional) and B200 GT (Glass Cockpit), each of the above 04 aircrafts i.e. helicopters and aeroplanes have different cockpit instrumentation and layouts requiring different Standard Operating Procedures and technical knowledge for each variant of Helicopter and Aeroplane. Hence he actually flies FOUR different machines raising the associated risks manifold to the ones discussed in preceding aircraft involving only two machines.

Shell Companies of Misra Family

As Capt. Pragyesh Misra was controlling the UP CAD for two decades, he managed to amass huge wealth by encashing his close proximity to the CMs & VVIPS. This wealth turned into hundreds of crores and Misra family created an empire of over 200 shell companies, which include reality, IT and finance etc.

It is reliably learnt that the Enforcement Directorate is also investigating a case under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) against the Misras. Sources close to Chief Secy’s office revealed that the ED has written to the Chief Secretary of UP regarding this matter concerning Capt Misra & his family.

Yogi Adityanath govt. on one hand claims zero tolerance towards corruption, but when it comes to Capt Misra the approach changes drastically to protect him. It is learnt that those involved in misleading the CM Yogi on Capt Mishra’s case, did not expect this much to happen to him so soon.

One can only wait and watch to see the further course of action in the cases of Capt. Misra because it may also snowball into a major scam involving who’s who in UP. So far too little has happened against Capt. Misra.