Man slaps air hostess on board IndiGo flight, arrested in Delhi

Passengers on board a Mumbai-Delhi IndiGo flight had to deal with the threat of violence mid-air as a co-passenger started misbehaving and physically assaulting the cabin crew.

According to a Times of India report, 41-year-old Mursalim Shaikh had to be pinned down by the cabin crew and way to the cockpit of the plane had to be blocked with a food trolley, after the used car dealer from Virar slapped an air hostess.

According to reports, Mursalim had been staring at a middle aged lady co-passenger ever since he boarded the flight and allegedly muttered insults aimed at her. The woman then complained to the air hostess who requested him to ‘sit properly’.

Mursalim apparently flew into a rage following that and slapped the air hostess. He also tried to heckle other members of the cabin crew and passengers, according to a NDTV report. He started screaming that he will take ‘revenge’.

It was then that the cabin crew got together to hold him down. The man was arrested by the CISF after the flight landed in Delhi - the flight commander had requested for a priority landing.

Hindustan Times quotes JS Deswal, deputy general of police IGI as saying: “We have taken the passenger in our custody. We will book him under a criminal offence based on a formal complaint from the airline.”

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has proposed a policy by which offenders like Mursalim will be fined upto Rs 5 lakh and jailed for one year. As per present rules, passengers who misbehave are let off for Rs 1,200.