The angry passenger who hit the pilot of an IndiGo flight following inordinate delays in flight departure reportedly apologised for the incident after being taken by police. Delhi police have registered a case based on the complaint from the airlines.
The incident took place on the IndiGo flight (6E-2175) from Delhi to Goa which was delayed due to fog by several hours. A video went viral on social media which showed a passenger, identified as Sahil Kataraia, attacking the pilot while he was about to make an announcement using the PA system in the airline.
The footage of the incident shows Kataria, who was reportedly seated in the last row, running up to the pilot on hearing the delay announcement. The passenger was immediately whisked out of the plane and handed over to the authorities. The flight was reportedly delayed for over 10 hours owing to bad weather conditions in Delhi.
However, a new video has surfaced which shows the passenger apologising with folded hands for the incident. "Sir, I am sorry," Kataria is heard telling the person filming the video. "No sorry, you raised hands on me," replies the captain (not seen in the video), NDTV reported.
According to the police, the co-pilot of flight number 6E 2175, between Delhi and Goa, and other security personnel gave a complaint regarding one passenger assaulting and misbehaving with them on the flight.
Kataria misbehaved and hit the co-pilot and created nuisance inside the aircraft, the complaint stated. The passenger was agitated as the flight was delayed for more than an hour, police said.
A case under sections 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint) and 290 (punishment for creating public nuisance) of the IPC and section 22 of the Aircraft Rules has been registered against the passenger and investigation taken up, police told PTI.
Reacting to the incident, Cdr Abhilash Tomy (retd) tweeted, “Put a man in a tin can for 7 hours, give him more uncertainty and he can lose his mind.”
-with PTI inputs.
