Pee-gate: Who is Shankar Mishra, the man arrested for urinating on a woman co-passenger on Air India flight?

It is an incident that has put the spotlight on the behaviour of unruly passengers on flights. Days after the uproar over an allegedly inebriated man urinating on a co-passenger onboard an Air India flight, he has been arrested from Bengaluru. Mumbai-based Shankar Mishra urinated on an elderly woman while he was drunk on a plane from New York to Delhi in November. The incident came to light earlier in the week and has snowballed into a controversy with reports that the airline failed to take timely and appropriate action against the accused. Also read: Urinating on planes, starting brawls: Are Indian flyers suffering from air rage? Who is Shankar Mishra? Shakar Mishra is a 34-year-old who worked at US financial services giant Wells Fargo. He was the vice president of the India Chapter of the multinational, headquartered in California. He had offices in Mumbai and Bengaluru and he frequently travelled between the cities. Mishra has been sacked from the company on Friday as the controversy grabbed headlines. Wells Fargo announced his termination through a statement, saying it holds its employees to the highest standards of professional and personal behaviour and “we find these allegations deeply disturbing”. A resident of Mumbai, Mishra is known as Suraj in Kamgar Nagar where he has been staying for the past two decades, according to reports in the media. On his LinkedIn profile he goes by ‘Suraj M’, reports Newroompost. He is reportedly an alumnus of SVKM’s Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), a well-known college in Mumbai. Why has he been arrested? According to PTI, Mishra, while in an inebriated state, allegedly urinated on his woman’s co-passenger, a senior citizen in her 70s, in the business class of an Air India flight on 26 November last year. According to the complaint, Mishra continued standing by the woman’s seat while his body parts were exposed. He was asked to leave by another passenger. A Delhi court has sent him to judicial custody for 14 days. No police custody was required for further investigation, it said. Also read: ‘Pee-gate’: DGCA advisory to airlines on restraining devices explained Was action taken against Mishra then? After the incident, Air India crew had allegedly taken Mishra to the woman, telling her that he wanted to apologise, reports NDTV. The aggrieved woman passenger wrote to Tata Group Chairman N Chandrasekharan, expressing her disappointment by stating that the cabin crew were highly insensitive towards the situation. In the complaint, the woman reportedly said she was forced to face him as he begged to be spared, citing his family, according to NDTV. What has happened since the incident came to light? The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Friday sought a report from the airline in connection with the incident. “We are seeking a report from the airline and shall take action against those found negligent,” DGCA chief Arun Kumar told Indian Express. Air India has put a 30-day travel man on Mishra saying that the “passenger behaved in an unacceptable and undignified manner.” A police complaint was lodged against him and the airline said that it was committed to assisting law enforcement agencies and regulatory authorities to “ensure that justice is delivered to the aggrieved passenger”. Also read: Air India ‘urinating’ incident: Wells Fargo sacks employee accused of urinating on female co-passenger Why was Mishra in Bengaluru?   The accused has been absconding for several days and was arrested on Saturday from Bengaluru. He was reportedly staying at the residence of a relative in Sanjanagar police limits in Bengaluru when he was nabbed. He had been changing locations to evade arrest. The Delhi Police had issued a Look Out Circular (LOC) against Mishra after he went incommunicado and refused to join the investigation. The police conducted raids in Mumbai and Bengaluru. A case was registered against Mishra under sections 294 (obscene act in public place), 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) and 510 (misconduct in public by a drunken person) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) as well as under Aircraft Rules, reported India Today. Also read: Air India urination row: ‘Lady had agreed to settlement, was paid compensation’, say accused Shankar Mishra’s lawyers What is Mishra’s family saying? Shyam Mishra, the father of Shankar, has denied the incident saying it as a “totally false case.” News agency ANI quoted Shyam Mishra as saying, “This is a totally false case. My son hadn’t slept for 30-35 hours. After dinner, he might’ve consumed the drink given by the crew and then slept. From what I understand, he was questioned by airline staff after he woke up.” “I don’t think he would do it. She (the victim) is a 72-year-old woman, she is like his mother. He (the accused, his son) is a 34-year-old man. How can he do it? He is married and has an 18-year-old daughter,” he continued. The father added that there were no eyewitnesses to the shocking incident. He said, “She (victim) had demanded payment and it was made. Don’t know what happened next. Must have demanded something that perhaps wasn’t met that upset her. Perhaps there was blackmailing, there must be something.” Was the co-passenger compensated? Mishra’s lawyers on Friday claimed that the accused paid the woman Rs 15,000 as compensation and got her belongings cleaned. According to PTI, a statement issued through his lawyers Ishanee Sharma and Akshat Bajpai, said that the 34-year-old had got the woman’s clothes and bags cleaned on 28 November and the same were delivered to her on 30 November. The statement read, “The woman in her message has clearly condoned the alleged act and has displayed no intention to lodge a complaint. The lady’s persisting grievance was only with respect to the adequate compensation being paid by the Airline for which she has raised a subsequent complaint on 20 December 2022.” Also read: Air India ‘urinating’ incident: Accused apologised to victim, urged her to not lodge complaint What is the woman saying? The claim was rejected by the woman’s family and it said that they had returned the money. A PTI report suggests that after the unsavoury incident, Mishra had reportedly exchanged messages with her. The messages show that the woman had shared her number with Mishra and acknowledged receipt of Rs 5,000. However, her daughter and son-in-law were very upset about the incident. The woman told Mishra that she persuaded them not to complain as he was very apologetic and unaware of the incident. In a series of messages, the woman said that she hoped Mishra will mend his ways and keep his word. The latter responded by thanking her and promising he will never repeat such an act. While appearing to forgive Mishra, the woman said she was unhappy with the Air India staff as it failed to take any action against him. A day later, Mishra informed her about the clothes and shoes that will be “refurbished” in a day or two. He also mentioned having sent her another Rs 10,000 as compensation. In one of the WhatsApp messages sent to “Air Hostess Madam,” a screengrab of both transactions was attached. However, according to the report, on 19 December, the woman’s daughter purportedly sent a message saying that her mother was traumatised by her experience and that the family was very “upset, outraged, and angry.” It added that the family did not want his money and it would be returned via PayTM. The woman’s daughter further asked Mishra not to communicate with her mother any further. A screengrab of the transaction returning the money was also attached. With inputs from agencies Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram .