Civil Aviation Ministry seeks urgent probe on Air India urination case

Taking serious note of the Air India urination incident, the Ministry of Civil Aviation directed the airline to conduct an internal probe into the matter and submit the report as soon as possible, said top government sources on Thursday.

A man allegedly urinated on an elderly woman co-passenger during a New York-Delhi flight in November last year. The shocking incident occurred on November 26 when the flight was on its way from John F Kennedy international airport in New York to Delhi. The inebriated male passenger allegedly urinated on an elderly woman and flashed his private parts. “Ministry of Civil Aviation takes serious note on Air India urination case. MoCA has asked Air India to provide all the details of the incident. MoCA has also asked Air India to hold an internal probe into the matter and submit the report as soon as possible. The probe should be time-bound,” the top government sources told ANI.

According to the sources, the Ministry has asked Air India to submit a detailed probe report soon after the incident surfaced.

“Had the victim informed on the very day of the incident, strongest actions would have been taken by now,” the sources added.

“We encourage people to complain about all their grievances on the Air Sewa portal. We will ensure speedy justice to the victim. We asked Air India to submit a detailed probe report soon after the incident surfaced,” it added.

The sources further said that if these allegations are found true then the Ministry will take the strictest action possible but first, it is waiting for the internal report of Air India.

“We would expect Air India too to take strict actions against crew members,” it added.

Meanwhile, Delhi Police said that the man who allegedly urinated on an elderly woman co-passenger onboard an Air India flight was a resident of Mumbai and will be arrested at the earliest.

“The accused is a resident of Mumbai, but his possible location is in some other state and the police team has reached there. We will arrest the accused at the earliest,” said Delhi Police.

The Police on Wednesday filed an FIR on the shocking incident based on a complaint by Air India.

The police have registered an FIR in the matter under sections 354, 509, and 510 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 23 of the Indian Aircraft Act. Both the accused and the victim are from outside Delhi.

Air India on Wednesday imposed a 30-day flying ban on the passenger.

While the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) also launched an investigation, Air India has set up an internal panel to probe whether there were lapses on the part of the crew in addressing the situation that caused distress to the woman.

The National Commission for Women has taken cognisance of the incident onboard the Air India flight in which the inebriated male passenger also flashed his private parts at the elderly woman.

The NCW has sought a detailed action taken report on the matter within seven days from the Delhi Police Commissioner.

In her letter to the chairman of the board of Tata Sons, N Chandrasekaran, the woman passenger, who is in her seventies, called the flight experience extremely traumatic and expressed deep disappointment over the incident in the business class section of the flight.

In her letter, the woman said the ‘appalling incident’ occurred shortly after lunch was served and the lights were switched off, as she was getting ready to sleep. The flight had taken off from John F Kennedy international airport in New York.

She said that within minutes, an inebriated male walked to her seat and unzipped his pants, relieving himself and continued to expose his private parts until another passenger asked him to return to his seat.

“I am writing to express my deep disappointment regarding the appalling incident that occurred during my business class trip on flight AI102 (commencing in NY, JFK yesterday 26th November at 12.30 pm, and arriving this afternoon in New Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport at approximately 1.30 pm). This has been the most traumatic flight that I have ever experienced.

“During the course of the flight, shortly after lunch was served and the lights were switched off, I was getting ready to sleep, and another passenger walked to my seat completely inebriated. He unzipped his pants, relieved himself, and continued to expose me to his private parts. The passenger sitting next to me asked him to return to his seat. He did not respond immediately, but after a few moments left the area,” the letter read.

The woman passenger who is in her seventies, in the letter, also highlighted that when asked for a change of seat, “the airline refused and informed her there were no seats available”. She also complained about being allotted a small seat used by the airline staff, by one of the senior stewardesses.