Harbhajan Singh said that the incident happened to his friends earlier this month
New Delhi:
In a series of angry tweets posted today, cricketer Harbhajan Singh brought attention to an alleged incident of racism and assault by an expat pilot from Jet Airways. According to his tweets, the pilot named Bernd Hoesslin racially abused and assaulted two passengers on the flight, one of them being a person with physical disability. The cricketer sought strict action against the pilot as he tweeted PM Modi. "Such things should not be allowed or tolerated in our country," he said in one of his tweets. The 36-year-old told NDTV that the incident happened to his wife's friends earlier this month.
The incident highlighted by Harbhajan Singh allegedly took place on a Chandigarh-Mumbai Jet Airways flight. One of the passengers who was allegedly assaulted posted about the incident on Facebook on April 5. Pooja Gujral was travelling with her friend who is wheelchair-bound. When the flight arrived in Mumbai, they had to wait for 20-25 minutes for the wheelchair to be brought to his friend's seat. This is when the pilot came and screamed at them for checking-in his wheelchair and delaying the flight, she explained. Something which, she says, was allowed by the airline. "He got really mad at me and started screaming and pushed my hand saying 'GET OUT'!" she added. When they objected to his behaviour, he responded with "you bloody Indian".
In a fresh statement, Jet Airways said that the pilot remains de-rostered since the day of the incident and an investigation is underway. "Corrective action will be taken after due investigation. The airline has, as per policy, initiated a full-fledged investigation, based on specific inputs from guests, concerned departments and agencies," they said.
Ms Gujral also mentioned in one of the comments on her post that on 5th April she filed a non- cognisable complaint because police refused to file an FIR.
The cricketer's tweets come at a time when the Indian pilots' union of Jet Airways raised concerns about the 'racist approach' of expat pilots in the airline and asked them to barred from the cockpit. Jet Airways has nearly 60 expat commanders, who mainly operate its Boeing 737 and ATR fleet.
(With inputs from PTI)
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@narendramodi sir this pilot BERND HOESSLIN working @jetairways calld my fellow indian (U BLOODY INDIAN GET OUT OF FLIGHT) pl take action
- Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) April 26, 2017
So called this Bernd Hoesslin a pilot with @jetairways called my fellow indian(u bloody indian get out of my flight)while he is earning here
- Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) April 26, 2017
Not only was he racist but physically assaulted a lady and abused a physically challenged man..absolutely disgraceful &shame on @jetairways
- Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) April 26, 2017
Strict action must b taken &such things should not be allowed or tolerated in r country.. #proudtobeindian let's get together and sort this
- Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) April 26, 2017
The incident highlighted by Harbhajan Singh allegedly took place on a Chandigarh-Mumbai Jet Airways flight. One of the passengers who was allegedly assaulted posted about the incident on Facebook on April 5. Pooja Gujral was travelling with her friend who is wheelchair-bound. When the flight arrived in Mumbai, they had to wait for 20-25 minutes for the wheelchair to be brought to his friend's seat. This is when the pilot came and screamed at them for checking-in his wheelchair and delaying the flight, she explained. Something which, she says, was allowed by the airline. "He got really mad at me and started screaming and pushed my hand saying 'GET OUT'!" she added. When they objected to his behaviour, he responded with "you bloody Indian".
In a fresh statement, Jet Airways said that the pilot remains de-rostered since the day of the incident and an investigation is underway. "Corrective action will be taken after due investigation. The airline has, as per policy, initiated a full-fledged investigation, based on specific inputs from guests, concerned departments and agencies," they said.
Ms Gujral also mentioned in one of the comments on her post that on 5th April she filed a non- cognisable complaint because police refused to file an FIR.
The cricketer's tweets come at a time when the Indian pilots' union of Jet Airways raised concerns about the 'racist approach' of expat pilots in the airline and asked them to barred from the cockpit. Jet Airways has nearly 60 expat commanders, who mainly operate its Boeing 737 and ATR fleet.
(With inputs from PTI)
Click here for more trending stories.
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