Air India Air Hostess Claims Pilot Molested Her

A month after a 62-year-old passenger allegedly molested a cabin crew member of Vistara airlines, another such incident has come to light. An Air India cabin crew member has accused a pilot of molesting her on an Ahmedabad-Mumbai flight on May 4, reported Hindustan Times.

Incident occurred onboard

After reporting the matter to senior officials in the airline, the air hostess filed a police complaint against the pilot

According to ANI, "A scuffle broke out between the complainant (the air hostess) and the accused (the pilot) on board an Air India flight from Ahmedabad to Mumbai on May 4. Shortly after the flight landed in Mumbai, the woman approached the Sahar police station in Mumbai and lodged a case against the pilot," the police said.

The police registered a case against the pilot under Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code, which is assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty.

Air India, in a statement, said that since the matter is under probe, they cannot make any comment. However, they will extend all co-operation in the investigation.

Similar "mid-air molestation case" in 2009

On April 3, 2009, a similar incident of mid-air molestation took place. The Indian and international media widely reported it. They were charged with playing a major role in a mid-air scuffle. The air hostess of the flight had lodged a molestation case with the police. The pilots were suspended by Air India after a probe panel held them guilty. The Sharjah-Delhi IC-884 flight pilots, Ranbeer Arora and Aditya Chopra, got court relief sometime back. This was after they arrived at an out-of-court settlement with complainant Komal Singh, after paying her a hefty compensation.

Read: “We Talk About Rape, Is This Any Less?”, Ask SpiceJet Air Hostesses

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Bhawana is an intern with SheThePeople.TV