MUMBAI: In yet another case of sexual harassment on board a flight, a male passenger allegedly lifted the armrest and repeatedly groped a female co-passenger when the cabin lights were dimmed on a late-night flight from Mumbai to Guwahati on Saturday.
An FIR was registered and the man has been handed over to the police in Guwahati, said the airline. In the past two months, at least four sexual harassment cases involving Indian passengers have been reported on board flights.
The latest incident occurred on board IndiGo flight 6E-5319 which departed Mumbai after 9 pm and landed at the destination 15 minutes past midnight. Narrating her ordeal, the woman told TOI that she was recuperating after a hospital stay. She had an aisle seat, she had lowered the armrests and had fallen asleep after the cabin lights were dimmed. She woke up to find the armrest up and the male co-passenger leaning close to her.
“I found it weird because I distinctly remembered putting the hand down. Half-asleep, I didn’t think too much about it, put the armrest down again and went back to sleep,” she said. After some time, she woke up with a start to find the male passenger’s hands on her. His eyes were shut. “I didn’t want to jump to conclusions…so, I waited, kept my eyes half-closed and pretended to be asleep,” she told TOI.
In a couple of minutes, she found the co-passenger again groping her and touching himself inappropriately. “I wanted to scream, but I couldn’t. I froze,” she said. Eventually, she gathered her wits and when he again tried to grope, she pulled his hand away, screamed, turned the seat lights on and called the cabin crew. “He started apologising for what he did, while I was shouting, crying and narrating the incident,” she said.
IndiGo, in a statement, said that the passenger was handed over to the Guwahati police on arrival, after receiving a complaint from the woman passenger for alleged sexual harassment. “An FIR has been filed by the complainant with the local police and we will provide assistance in their investigation,” the statement said.
The woman thanked the airline, the CISF, the airport authorities and the witness who stayed back at the police station to register the case. “The world needs more people like you,” she said.
An FIR was registered and the man has been handed over to the police in Guwahati, said the airline. In the past two months, at least four sexual harassment cases involving Indian passengers have been reported on board flights.
The latest incident occurred on board IndiGo flight 6E-5319 which departed Mumbai after 9 pm and landed at the destination 15 minutes past midnight. Narrating her ordeal, the woman told TOI that she was recuperating after a hospital stay. She had an aisle seat, she had lowered the armrests and had fallen asleep after the cabin lights were dimmed. She woke up to find the armrest up and the male co-passenger leaning close to her.
“I found it weird because I distinctly remembered putting the hand down. Half-asleep, I didn’t think too much about it, put the armrest down again and went back to sleep,” she said. After some time, she woke up with a start to find the male passenger’s hands on her. His eyes were shut. “I didn’t want to jump to conclusions…so, I waited, kept my eyes half-closed and pretended to be asleep,” she told TOI.
In a couple of minutes, she found the co-passenger again groping her and touching himself inappropriately. “I wanted to scream, but I couldn’t. I froze,” she said. Eventually, she gathered her wits and when he again tried to grope, she pulled his hand away, screamed, turned the seat lights on and called the cabin crew. “He started apologising for what he did, while I was shouting, crying and narrating the incident,” she said.
IndiGo, in a statement, said that the passenger was handed over to the Guwahati police on arrival, after receiving a complaint from the woman passenger for alleged sexual harassment. “An FIR has been filed by the complainant with the local police and we will provide assistance in their investigation,” the statement said.
The woman thanked the airline, the CISF, the airport authorities and the witness who stayed back at the police station to register the case. “The world needs more people like you,” she said.