Air India pee-gate: DCW chief writes to DGCA on handling sexual harassment, unruly passengers

The DCW chief cited the recent instances of a drunk passenger urinating on a female co-passengers on two Air India flights. The panel had said it has taken suo moto cognizance of both incidents and sought greater accountability from airlines and DGCA in cases of sexual harassment.

Delhi Commission for Women chief Swati Maliwal on Wednesday (March 15) wrote a letter to the Director General of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and listed detailed recommendations to deal with unruly passengers and incidents of sexual harassment on flights and at airports.

The DCW chief cited the recent instances of a drunk passenger urinating on a female co-passengers on two Air India flights. The panel had said it has taken suo moto cognizance of both incidents and sought greater accountability from airlines and DGCA in cases of sexual harassment.

In a letter, the DCW chief said, "The Commission has drafted detailed recommendations on amendments that should be made to prevalent guidelines so that cases of sexual harassment and unruly behaviour are dealt with strictly on flights and in airports."

In its detailed report, the Commission gave recommendations to DGCA regarding steps to be taken to prevent and tackle sexual harassment on flights. The recommendations include action against highly intoxicated persons, including preventing such persons from boarding the aircraft protocols to handle such passengers on planes and severely limiting alcohol intake on flights.

It also proposed action against persons indulging in sexual harassment on flights. These include registration of an FIR against the offender and setting up an independent committee to enquire into complaints of sexual harassment from passengers headed by a retired woman judge.

Apart from the Air India pee-gate, on March 12, a drunk Travel Ticket Examiner (TTE) allegedly urinated on a woman's head in Akal Takht Express, a Government Railway Police (GRP) official said.

It is reportedly said that the accused has been identified as Munna Kumar of Bihar and was deployed on the Akal Takht Express between Amritsar and Kolkata. It is also said that the woman was sleeping when the TTE urinated on her.

The woman woke up and raised an alarm and her husband managed to grab the TTE. Other passengers also woke up and thrashed the TTE after which they handed him over to the Government Railway Police (GRP).