Was forced by crew to negotiate: Air India flyer

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 6

The victim of the Air India urinating incident on November 26 last year was allegedly forced by the airline crew to negotiate with the culprit to come to a settlement. According to the victim’s complaint registered with Air Sewa, the Ministry of Civil Aviation portal that offers various flight-related services, including grievance redressal, she was forced to confront the accused and negotiate with him despite her unwillingness to meet him. She was already “distraught” and the coercion further “disoriented” her, the victim, who is 70 years old, wrote in her complaint.

Victim returned money: Accused

• Accused Shankar Mishra, who is in an undisclosed location, has released a statement through his lawyers
• Mishra claimed that he had paid money on account of the soiled clothes and shoes to the victim on November 28. However, on December 19, the daughter of the air passenger returned the money
• AI staff summoned by the Delhi Police on Saturday at 10.30 am

Shortly after lunch was served and the lights were switched off on board AI 102 on November 26 (JFK New York to IGIA, New Delhi), the inebriated male passenger walked to the elderly woman’s seat and urinated on her, the complainant stated.

“I immediately got up to notify the stewardess. My clothes, shoes and bag were soaked in urine. The flight staff refused to touch those, sprayed my bag and shoes with disinfectant, took me to the bathroom and gave me a set of airline pyjamas and socks,” the victim stated in the complaint.

“I asked the staff for a change of seat but was told that no other seats were available. However, another business class passenger who had witnessed my plight and was advocating for me pointed out that there were seats available in first class,” the victim stated. She was told by the stewardesses that the pilot had “vetoed” against giving her a seat in the first class.

After standing for 20 minutes, the victim was offered a small seat used by airline staff where she sat for about two hours.

She was then asked to return to her own seat which was still damp and reeking of urine. When she refused, the victim was offered the steward’s seat for the rest of the journey, the complaint stated.

Later, the flight staff informed the victim that the offender wanted to apologise to her. She said that she did not wish to interact with him and wanted him arrested on arrival.

“However, the crew brought the offender before me against my wish and we were made to sit opposite each other on the crew seats. I was stunned when he started crying and profusely apologised to me, begging me not to lodge a complaint because he is a family man and did not want his wife and child to be affected by this incident.

Air India later turned down the complainant’s demand for reimbursing her for the soiled clothes and shoes.

Air India gave her phone number to the offender (identified as the vice-president of the Indian chapter of a US-headquartered financial services company) for the payment but the victim returned his money.

The victim further wrote that after her son-in-law raised a complaint with Air India on November 27, the airlines agreed to reimburse the ticket. But to date, it has issued only a partial refund, she wrote.

The victim wrote that she also mailed a complaint to Air India on November 27 and expected the airline to get in touch with her. But the carrier did not respond.

US firm wells fargo sacks employee

US financial services company Wells Fargo on Friday sacked Shankar Mishra, saying the allegations were ‘deeply disturbing’

DGCA seeks report from ai on dec 6 incident

The DGCA has sought a report from the AI on alleged peeing by a passenger on a woman’s blanket on the Paris-New Delhi flight on Dec 6

Accused’s house locked

A four-member Delhi Police team on Friday afternoon landed in Mumbai in search of the man, Shankar Mishra, who had allegedly urinated on a woman co-passenger on November 26 last year, but found his home locked. TNS

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