Molestation charge fake, alleges passenger

Kolkata: Instances of passengers misbehaving with airline crew are common but an instance of the crew framing passengers in a fake molestation case to hide a mistake as simple as not giving warm water to a sick passenger is rare indeed.

That, however, is being alleged in a case heard by a court in Kolkata, in which it not only gave interim bail to the six passengers involved, but also issued a warrant against the crew, captain and the ground clearance staff for curtailing the passengers' liberty by filing a fake case against them.

A K Singh, a passenger on board the Indigo Airlines flight from Patna to Bangalore via Kolkata, said, "I asked a crew member for warm water as my friend Ali Ahmed had a stomach pain. However, when the flight landed at Kolkata, almost forty-five minutes had passed and the water was not served. We decided to bring the matter to the notice of the pilot and asked the airhostess to lead us to him. Afraid that her mistake would be reported, she got furious and began shouting."

"We were offloaded around 7.30 pm on Monday but the airline staff informed the police almost four-and-a-half hours after that," added Singh.

A senior police officer from the airport police, said, requesting anonymity, "We have investigated and found that it is not a case of molestation. After the airline filed a complaint, the accused also lodged an FIR with us stating that they were framed by the airline."

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Indigo Airlines president Aditya Ghosh said, "At Indigo, we are committed to a hassle-free experience. Having said that, an incident such as this, where a group of passengers harassed the crew on board, cannot be taken lightly. The pilot in command decided to offload them and hand them to the airport police."