Powered by
Sponsored by

Congress IT cell leader says unruly Air France passenger is 'Modi bhakt'

The Indian man could face between five to 10 years imprisonment if convicted

air france rep Representational image | Air France Facebook account

An Air France flight from Paris to New Delhi made an emergency landing at Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, on Friday on account of an unruly passenger on board. The Air France flight, which originated in Ghana, was allowed to proceed after the passenger was offloaded.

Bulgaria's state-run BTA news agency claimed the unruly passenger, who was an Indian national, had been detained for 72 hours. The man could face between five to 10 years imprisonment if convicted.

Initial media reports provided few details of the incident on board the Air France flight, but said the passenger rampaged on board the flight from the beginning of the journey. Reuters quoted Ivailo Angelov, an official at Bulgaria's National Investigation Agency, as saying, "The passenger... began to act up soon after take-off, quarrelling with other passengers, assaulting a flight attendant and pummelling the cockpit’s door."

On Sunday, Gaurav Pandhi, the national coordinator for digital communications and social media for the Congress, gave a political spin to the incident on board the Air France flight. Pandhi shared a video clip, purportedly of the incident on board the Air France flight. A passenger in a white shirt can be seen chanting the name of Modi and referring to Udta Punjab, a Bollywood movie on the drug crisis in Punjab.

The man can be seen apparently trying to confront a steward. Pandhi tweeted the individual was a 'Modi bhakt', though he did not provide any evidence to support this claim. Pandhi tweeted, "PROFANITY ALERT: A Modi Bhakt onboard Air France flight from Paris to New Delhi abused Punjabis, attacked the flight attendant and fellow Indians. The flight made an emergency landing in Bulgaria & he was taken off the aircraft. Such a shame. Congratulations  @narendramodi!"

Pandhi's tweet was retweeted more than 3,500 times and liked nearly 7,000 times.

Since December, the ongoing farmers' protests on the outskirts of Delhi have triggered tension between sections of the Indian Diaspora in some countries. Last week, a group of Sikh men in a car were attacked by another group of Indians in Sydney, Australia.

In February, a network of Indian-Canadian groups supporting the three contentious farm laws alleged they were being threatened and intimidated by Khalistani elements in Greater Toronto Area, Metro Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton.

📣 The Week is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@TheWeekmagazine) and stay updated with the latest headlines