Man who urinated on woman on AI flight is Mumbai resident, to be arrested soon: Delhi Police

The man who has been accused of urinating on an elderly woman on a Delhi bound Air India flight from New York's JKF airport is likely to face arrest soon, Delhi Police has confirmed. The cops in the national capital also confirmed that the man is a resident of Maharashtra's capital city Mumbai. 

"The accused is a resident of Mumbai, but his possible location is in some other state and the police team has reached there. We will arrest the accused at the earliest," said Delhi Police.

On Wednesday it was reported that Delhi Police has registered a FIR on the complaint of Air India over the shocking incident that took place on 26 November 2022. 

The police have registered an FIR in the matter under sections 354, 509, and 510 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 23 of the Indian Aircraft Act. Both the accused and the victim are from outside Delhi.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has also launched an investigation into the incident. 

Further Air India has set up an internal panel to probe whether there were lapses on part of the crew in addressing the situation that caused distress to the woman. The airlines on Wednesday informed that the man has been banned from flying with the airline for a period of 30 days. 

The National Commission for Women has taken cognisance of the incident onboard the Air India flight in which the inebriated male passenger also flashed his private parts at the elderly woman.

The incident occurred on 26 November when the flight was on its way from John F Kennedy international airport in New York to Delhi.

The elderly woman brought the incident to limelight when she wrote a letter to the chairman of the Board of Tata Sons, N Chandrasekaran narrating the harrowing experience on board. 

The septuagenarian called the flight experience extremely traumatic and expressed deep disappointment over the incident in the business class section of the flight.

In her letter, the woman said the 'appalling incident' occurred shortly after the lunch was served and the lights were switched off, as she was getting ready to sleep. The flight had taken off from John F Kennedy international airport in New York.

She said that within minutes, an inebriated male walked to her seat and unzipped his pants, relieving himself and continued to expose his private parts until another passenger asked him to return to his seat.

"This has been the most traumatic flight that I have ever experienced. During the course of the flight, shortly after lunch was served and the lights were switched off, I was getting ready to sleep, and another passenger walked to my seat completely inebriated. He unzipped his pants, relieved himself, and continued to expose me to his private parts. The passenger sitting next to me asked him to return to his seat. He did not respond immediately, but after a few moments left the area," the letter read.

The woman passenger who is in her seventies, in the letter, also highlighted that when asked for a change of seat, "the airline refused and informed her there were no seats available". She also complained about being allotted a small seat used by the airline staff, by one of the senior stewardesses. 

(With agency inputs)