MUMBAI – In another case of sexual harassment, a man was arrested by authorities in India after he was alleged of touching a female co-passenger inappropriately.
The incident happened on the IndiGo flight from Mumbai to Guwahati on Saturday when a male passenger allegedly lifted the armrest and repeatedly groped a female passenger.
The flight, 6E-5319 departed Mumbai after 9 p.m. but the ordeal of the woman started after she saw that the armrest she had lowered was raised.
Telling the harrowing details of the incident, the woman revealed that while on the aisle seat, she had fallen asleep after the cabin lights were dimmed.
The woman woke up to find the armrest raised and a male co-passenger leaning close to her. The woman didn’t think too much about it, put the armrest down again, and went back to sleep; however, after some time, she woke up to find the male passenger’s hands on her.
As the male passengers’ eyes were shut, the woman said she didn’t want to jump to conclusions and waited, while pretending to be asleep.
The sinister designs of the male passengers were laid bare when after a couple of minutes, the woman found the co-passenger again groping her and touching himself inappropriately.
The woman finally pulled the male passenger’s hand away, turned the seat lights on, and called the cabin crew.
Soon afterward, the flyer started apologizing for what he did but the crew intervened and started questioning the flyer while analyzing the situation.
The carrier, IndiGo, said in a statement that the passenger was handed over to the Guwahati police on arrival.
“An FIR has been filed by the complainant with the local police and we will provide assistance in their investigation, where required,” the airline statement said.
Meanwhile, the woman, in her social media post, thanked the airline and the airport authorities as well as the witness who stayed back at the police station to register the case.
“The world needs more people like you,” she wrote.
There have been multiple incidents of sexual harassment onboard flights heading to or from India. In one of the most recent famous incidents, a male Indian was accused of peeing on an elderly woman.
Shankar Mishra was arrested and interrogated after he was found to have urinated on a woman in her 70s on board an Air India aircraft from New York to New Delhi.
The incident occurred back in November 2022 and the Indian flag carrier reportedly filed a case and recommended putting the man on the no-fly list for the incident.
It was reported that the intoxicated passenger exposed himself and urinated on an elderly woman who was sitting in the aisle seat.
The woman first informed the cabin crew, but they did not detain the disruptive passenger who, according to the complainant, unzipped his pants and relieved himself.
Sharing her ordeal, the woman said her clothes and bag were completely soaked in urine after which the air hostess took her to the toilet where she cleaned herself.
