Man Suffers Panic Attack Mid-air On IndiGo Flight, Slapped By Fellow Passenger, Goes Missing (WATCH)

A man was slapped by a fellow passenger on an IndiGo aircraft after he suffered a panic attack right after boarding the plane. The unruly passenger was asked by the pilot to leave the aircraft for assaulting his fellow traveller. 

In a shocking incident onboard IndiGo flight 6E138 from Mumbai to Kolkata, on Friday, a passenger was allegedly assaulted mid-air by a fellow traveller while receiving assistance from the IndiGo crew. A video of the altercation, which has now gone viral on online, shows Hossain Ahmed Mazumdar being escorted to his seat by flight attendants before being slapped. Hossain who appeared to be feeling unwell was being attended to by IndiGo cabin crew when another flyer suddenly slapped him without any apparent reason. The motive behind the assault remains unclear at this time.

IndiGo has termed the assailant's behaviour as "unruly" and that the individual was handed over to security upon arrival in Kolkata. The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) took custody of the accused at the airport for further investigation.

Man Goes Missing

Hossain, who worked at a gym in Mumbai, was returning home to Katigorah in Cachar district when the incident occurred. After the incident, Hossain was supposed to take a connecting flight from Kolkata to Silchar, but he never arrived. His family members, who were waiting for him at Silchar airport, are distressed as his phone remains unreachable and is believed to have been left in Mumbai.

According to a TOI report, Zubairul Islam Mazumdar, a relative, expressed frustration over the lack of information, stating, "When we didn't find him on the Silchar flight, we contacted the local authorities and even went to Udharband police station near the Silchar airport. But we received no concrete information about his whereabouts."

Hossain's father, Abdul Mannan Mazumdar, who is battling cancer, said, "He was working hard in Mumbai to support us and was returning home. I saw the video this morning and now I don't know where my son is." 

IndiGo Reacts

IndiGo's statement read, "We are aware of an incident involving a physical altercation on board one of our flights. Such unruly behaviour is completely unacceptable, and we strongly condemn any actions that compromise the safety and dignity of our passengers and crew." 

“Our crew acted in accordance with established Standard Operating Procedures. The individual involved was identified as unruly and handed over to the security authorities upon arrival. All appropriate regulatory agencies have been duly informed, in line with protocol. We remain committed to maintaining a safe and respectful environment on all our flights,” the statement further read.

However there's no mention whether Hossain was taken into protective custody by airline or airport authorities for medical attention or investigation purposes.

(With inputs from ANI)