Punjab Police detained a male passenger, identified as Rajinder Singh, on Monday following allegations of molesting an air hostess on a Dubai-Amritsar flight. The incident, which took place on Saturday, unfolded when Singh, hailing from Kolti village in Jalandhar district, engaged in a heated argument with the air hostess, ultimately resulting in the alleged molestation, as reported by news agency PTI.
According to police sources, Singh was allegedly in an inebriated state at the time of the incident. Crew members promptly informed the Amritsar control room about the matter, prompting the assistant security manager of the airline to file a police complaint.
"The air hostess brought the incident to the crew's notice. The accused was allegedly in a drunken state," stated police officials, as quoted by PTI. Singh was apprehended by authorities upon his arrival at Shri Guru Ramdas Ji International Airport in Punjab.
Singh has been charged under Sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and Section 509 (word, gesture, or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code, as informed by police authorities.
In a separate incident on March 22, Sahar police in Mumbai arrested two passengers travelling from Dubai to Mumbai for causing a disturbance on the flight while under the influence of alcohol. The individuals were accused of hurling abuses at crew members and fellow passengers.
Following a complaint from IndiGo Airlines, an FIR was registered leading to the identification and subsequent arrest of the two passengers, Dattatreya Bapardekar and John George D'Souza. They have been booked under section 336 of the Indian Penal Code, as well as sections 21, 22, and 25 of the Aircraft Rules, for their alleged drunken behaviour and misconduct towards the crew.
"Both were arrested formally, but as the sections were bailable, they were granted bail from the police station itself," stated Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Dixit Gedam, according to news agency ANI.
After the flight landed in Mumbai on Wednesday, the accused were taken into custody and subsequently granted bail by a court, as confirmed by an official on Thursday. The two individuals involved are residents of Nalasopara in Palghar and Kolhapur. They had recently returned from a year of work in the Gulf and had started celebrating by consuming duty-free liquor, as reported by PTI.
"When co-flyers objected to the ruckus, the two abused them as well as the intervening crew. One of them was drinking while walking down the aisle. The crew confiscated their bottles," added the official.
The accused have been charged under Indian Penal Code sections 336 (for endangering the life and safety of others) and sections 21, 22, and 25 of the Aircraft Rules, as informed by a Sahar police station official.