Drunk passenger on Bengaluru-bound IndiGo flight harasses crew, arrested
A 32-year-old passenger of an IndiGo flight from Jaipur to Bengaluru was arrested for misbehaving and harassing a crew member, reports said on Monday. The passenger, identified as Randheer Singh from Rajasthan's Sikar, was allegedly intoxicated and repeatedly touched an air hostess's hand. The incident took place late on Friday evening, and upon arrival at Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport, IndiGo filed a police complaint on Saturday. The police reportedly arrested Singh on Sunday, but he was later released on bail.
Why does this story matter?
Over the past year or so, there has been an uptick in cases of unruly behavior by passengers on aircraft operated both by Indian and global airlines. Most recently, in September, a man was arrested for reportedly groping a female co-passenger on a Mumbai-Guwahati IndiGo flight. Besides harassing crew members or co-passengers, several incidences of fliers urinating, vomiting, and defecating, causing inconvenience to other passengers during the flight have been reported, too.
Police register case based on IndiGo's complaint
IndiGo officials filed a complaint in the Bengaluru airport on Saturday, based on which the police registered a case under pertinent sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Singh was subsequently arrested but was later granted bail on Monday. In the complaint, the airline's security officer stressed that Singh had held the hand of an air hostess thrice on its flight 6E 556 and indulged in inappropriate behavior, even after repeated warnings, reported The Indian Express.
He behaved rudely with co-passengers too
Apart from harassing the female crew member, Singh also allegedly behaved rudely with other passengers on the flight. The flight crew then informed the captain about the behavior of the accused, following which he was declared an "unruly passenger" and handed over to authorities upon landing.
Global rise in mid-air harassment cases
While the spotlight is on unruly Indian passengers, there have been several similar incidents abroad, too. A drunk passenger on a Delta Air Lines flight from New York to Athens allegedly groped a 16-year-old girl and her mother while the crew allegedly denied them help, per reports from July. Back in May, an intoxicated IndiGo flier traveling from Dubai to Amritsar allegedly harassed an air hostess, while a similar midflight incident also took place on IndiGo's Bangkok-Mumbai flight in April.
