An inebriated male passenger urinated on a female co-passenger in Air India's business class on November 26, 2022. Air India has lodged a police complaint regarding the incident, which took place on November 26 when the flight was on its way from New York to Delhi.
The whole incident came to light on January 4, here is a break down of things as they unfolded.
Who is the man booked for urinating on co-passenger on Delhi-bound Air India flight?
The businessman was initially identified as Shekhar Mishra. He reportedly is in his fifties. Mishra has been booked under Sections of IPC for ourtraging modesty, misconduct by a drunken person, obscene act in public place and Aircraft Rules.
However, one user on Twitter claimed that his name is Shankar Mishra , and he works for Wells Fargo.
"He’s on LinkedIn and recently renamed his profile as ‘Suraj M.’ Profile recommendations still refer to him as Shankar.. On a side note, the banking sector’s VP position is low-profile nowadays," replied another one.
Mishra issues statement amid police's hunt, claims of compensatory settlement with victim
Shankar Mishra, the accused of urinating inflight on an elderly woman has issued a statement through his lawyers and said that the lady in her message has clearly condoned the alleged act and has displayed no intention to lodge a complaint.
Accused paid compensation on Paytm, victim's daughter returned after a month
The statement was issued by Ishanee Sharma and Akshat Bajpai who are the lawyers for Shankar Mishra. The accused paid the compensation as agreed between the parties on Paytm on November 28 but after almost a month on December 19, her daughter returned the money back, according to the lawyers. The statement further said, "The WhatsApp messages between the accused and the lady clearly show that the accused had got the clothes and bags cleaned on November 28 and the same was delivered on November 30."
"The lady's persisting grievance was only with respect to the adequate compensation being paid by the Airline for which she has raised a subsequent complaint on December 20, 2022," the statement added.
Whatsapp status of the accused goes viral
Amid the high voltage drama of the hunt for the passenger accused for peeing on female passenger on Delhi-bound flight, a whatsapp status posted allegedly by the accused has gone viral on internet.
According to a report in India Today, Shankar Mishra, the accused had posted a Whatsapp status on his personal number. The status said, "Mistakes don't define us, they refine us." The said status was posted around 5 days ago.
Where is the case now?
In a recent development that has come up in the case where a man peed on female passenger, a team of Delhi police reached Mumbai's Kurla on Friday to meet a relative of accused Shankar Mishra pertaining to getting information about the accused.
According to a report in NDTV, another team is also reported to be camping in Bengaluru, where Mishra's sister resides. It is alleged that he was last known to be there and hence his sister was questioned by the police.
Earlier in the morning, the Delhi Police has issued a Look Out Circular (LoC) on Friday against the accused, Shankar Mishra who has been absconding since the investigation has started.
Action initiated after victim wrote letter to Tata chairman
The airline initiated a probe on the incident after the passenger wrote a letter to N Chandrasekaran, chairman, Tata Group about the traumatic incident she faced on flight.
What exactly happened on the Delhi-bound flight?
A female passenger in her seventies was on her way from New York to Delhi. While she was seated on her seat in the business class, one of her fellow passengers came towards her in completely drunk state.He then unzipped his pants and started urinating on her, leaving her clothes, seat and bag all wet.
Cabin crew failed to take any strict action against the drunk man
She immediately alerted the cabin crew about the shocking incident but to her surprise, the cabin crew didn't take any strict action instead they sprayed disinfectant on her seat and belongings, also provided her a set of pyjamas and footwear.
Woman made to sit on narrow cabin crew seat for hours
She was then seated on a narrow cabin crew seat for hours, even though there were seats vacant in the first class. To add up to her trauma after incident, the unruly passenger was let go free after flight while the victim was assured quick passage though immigration using a wheelchair.
Ultimately, even after using a wheelchair, she waited for another 30 minutes to finally get clear of her customs and get all her luggage by herself.
Air India issued statement after incident
Air India issued a statement on Wednesday condemning the incident strongly. The airline has also imposed a ban on the man who peed on her fellow female passenger on flight. The internal committe has been handed over the case for investigation and the airline assured strict actions against the ones found at fault.
Air India in their statement said, "Air India has taken a very serious note of the incident, where a passenger behaved in an unacceptable and undignified manner on the New York-Delhi flight that caused extreme distress to a fellow passenger. A police complaint has already been lodged in this case and Air India is committed to assist the law enforcement agencies as well as regulatory authorities to ensure that justice is delivered to the aggrieved passenger."
Passenger banned for 30 days from flying with airline
Further adding, "As a first step, Air India has already reported the matter to the Internal Committee in accordance with DGCA CAR – for declaring the pax unruly. Meanwhile, the passenger has been banned from flying with Air India for 30 days or till the decision of the internal committee, whichever is earlier. If found guilty, action will be taken against the unruly passenger as per regulatory guidelines."
"We have also constituted an internal committee to probe lapses on part of Air India’s crew and address the deficiencies that delayed quick redressal of the situation. We are in regular contact with the aggrieved passenger and her family during the investigation and reporting process,” said the statement.
DGCA asked for detailed report from airline
Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has looked into the matter with an aim to take strict actions against the ones who are found negligent in the shocking incident. DGCA has asked for a detailed report of the incident from Air India.
"We are seeking a report from the Airline and shall take action against those found negligent," said a statement from Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
FIR registered after incident by Delhi Police
A first information report (FIR) was registered by Delhi Police after the incident was reported and a complaint was given to police on behalf of the airline on December 28. Further investigation updates are underway.
The Delhi Police said in a statement, "FIR being registered after an inebriated male passenger urinated on a female co-passenger in Air India's business class on Nov 26. Matter was reported to Air India by female passenger, after which a complaint was given to police on behalf of Air India on December 28."
