Shankar Mishra was detained by police for being an unruly airline passenger.
Key Takeaways:
- A woman reported that he urinated on her while they were in business class on an Air India flight leaving New York.
- The senior passenger’s family reportedly put pressure on Air India to act, according to reports in Indian media.
Following a woman’s complaint that he urinated on her in business class on an Air India flight from New York, Indian police have detained an unruly traveller.
According to New Delhi Police spokesperson Suman Nalva on Sunday, Shankar Mishra was apprehended by police on Saturday in the southern city of Bengaluru and brought to the Indian capital.
Nalva opted not to reveal what Mishra told the police after his arrest. According to Mishra, quoted in the Times of India, he was intoxicated and could not believe his actions.
A New Delhi court sentenced him to 14 days in jail while police investigated the complaint accusing Mishra of upsetting a woman’s modesty on the flight via New York to New Delhi. He could spend up to three years in prison if found guilty.
Another passenger on the flight, Sugata Bhattacharjee, told reporters that he saw Mishra drinking excessively and that Mishra was speaking erratically while repeatedly asking him about his family.
In response to the incident, which sparked outrage on social media and among activists who claimed that barring Mishra from flying for 30 days was insufficient, Air India also issued written notices. It grounded one pilot and four cabin crew members on Saturday.
Although the incident happened on November 26, Air India only reported it to the police this week. It stated that the crew believed the two had resolved the situation on their own when they landed in New Delhi and did not call the police.
According to Indian media reports, Air India took action as a result of pressure from the family of the senior citizen-passenger woman.
Air India’s CEO and managing director Campbell Wilson said, “Air India recognises that it could have dealt with these matters better, both in the air and also on the ground, and is committed to taking action.”
On Friday, the American multinational financial services company Wells Fargo & Company announced that Mishra’s position as an executive with a base in Mumbai had been terminated.
