5th case in 3 months: Man arrested for 'groping' female IndiGo co-passenger on board Mumbai-Guwahati flight
A man on board a Mumbai-Guwahati IndiGo flight was handed over to the Guwahati police on arrival after a complaint was received against him from another passenger for alleged sexual harassment, the airline said on Sunday.
FollowA man onboard a Mumbai-Guwahati IndiGo flight was handed over to the Guwahati police on arrival after a complaint was received against him from another passenger for alleged sexual harassment, the airline said on Sunday. On a late-night flight, a woman claimed that a guy lifted the armrest and made unwanted advances towards her.
The airline said that a First Information Report (FIR) was filed against the individual after the event, and that he was then turned over to the Guwahati police. The IndiGo flight 6E-5319 departed from Mumbai at around 9 pm and reached the destination around 15 minutes post- midnight. This is the fifth instance of sexual harassment involving passengers on aircraft that has been recorded in the previous three months.
According to media reports, the woman said she was seated on an aisle seat in the flight and had fallen asleep after the cabin lights were dimmed. Before falling asleep, she had lowered the armrests, but when she awoke, they were raised and her male companion was leaning very close.
"I thought that was strange because I clearly recalled putting the hand down," she remarked. "I was just half asleep, so I didn't give it much thought before putting the armrest back down and continuing to sleep. After some time, she eventually woke up and felt the hands of the male passenger on her, but because he had his eyes closed, she decided not to draw any immediate conclusions," she added.
Thereby, she waited while keeping his eyes half-closed and pretending to be asleep. After a few minutes, when she saw another passenger grabbing and caressing her improperly, the lady claimed she wanted to scream but was unable to do so because she "froze." She described how she mustered up the guts to scream and pushed the man's hand away when he tried to grope her again. She then flipped on the seat lights and made a cabin staff call. The woman added, “He started apologising for what he did, while I was shouting, crying and narrating the incident".
In a statement, IndiGo claimed that the male passenger had been turned over to the police in Guwahati after the aircraft had landed because the female passenger had reported the male passenger for sexual harassment. The airline offered their help and mentioned that a police report (FIR) had been filed against the suspect with the local police.
