20-year-old Delhi man urinates on man on US flight, detained

The latest incident took place on flight AA292, which took off from New York at around 9.15pm on Friday and landed in Delhi at around 10.12pm on Saturday

A 20-year-old Delhi resident allegedly urinated in his sleep, soiling himself and a male co-passenger on a New York-New Delhi flight, officers said on Sunday, following which he was detained at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport.

The man was detained at the IGI Airport in New Delhi on Saturday. (PTI)

The airline, however, has suggested that the passenger, who was allegedly inebriated, was awake at the time of the incident and he urinated on the other man, an airport official aware of the matter said, citing a complaint by the American Airlines.

This the third such incident in the country in the last four months.

The latest incident took place on flight AA292, which took off from New York at around 9.15pm on Friday and landed in Delhi at around 10.12pm on Saturday.

Police and security officers said that Arya Vohra, a resident of south Delhi’s Defence Colony who is studying in the US, was allegedly inebriated and sleeping when he urinated on the other passenger, also an Indian.

“He (Vohra) was inebriated and urinated while he was asleep. He soiled the fellow passenger who complained to the crew,” a CISF officer said requesting anonymity.

While the latter, officials said, did not want to report the matter against Vohra as he had apologised, the airlines reported the matter to the Delhi Air Traffic Control and police officials.

“The victim, however, was not willing to report the matter to police after Vohra apologised but the crew took it very seriously and reported the matter. The matter was forwarded to the Central Industrial Security Forces (CISF) personnel at the airport, who handed over the accused passenger to the Delhi Police,” the CISF official said.

According to the airport official cited above, the airline in its police complaint alleged that Vohra “was not adhering to crew instructions... was repeatedly arguing with operating crew, was not willing to be seated and continuously endangering safety of crew and aircraft and after disturbing safety of follow passengers, finally urinated on the other pax( passenger)...”

The airline will cancel Vohra’s return travel and any future travels on their flights, the American Airlines’ said in the complaint.

Police were recording the statements of those involved in the incident.

“We have received a complaint of urination on a co-passenger from American Airlines against Arya Vohra, who is a student in USA and a resident of Defence Colony. The airlines has handed over the accused. He has been detained and we will take necessary legal action under relevant sections of the IPC and the Civil Aviation Act,” said Devesh Kumar Mahela, deputy commissioner of police (IGI Airport).

An American Airlines’ spokesperson said, “American Airlines flight 292 with service from John F Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) was met by local law enforcement upon arrival due to a disruptive flyer. We are grateful to our crew members who are consistently dedicated to the safety and care of our customers and handled the circumstances with the utmost professionalism.”

A Directorate General of Civil Aviation official said that the airline took appropriate action in the incident.

“We got a report from the concerned airline in this regard. They seem to have handled the situation professionally and have taken all appropriate action,” the official told HT, requesting anonymity.

Vohra and his family did not respond to HT’s request for comment.

In a similar incident in December last year, an allegedly drunken male passenger urinated on a female co-passenger on a Paris-Delhi flight. The accused was apprehended and later released after a written apology.

In November last year, an Air India passenger, also in an inebriated state, on a New York-Delhi flight allegedly urinated on a 70-year-old female passenger. The accused, Shankar Mishra, was arrested but later granted bail in January.

While the airline was penalised in one of the highest ever fines by the aviation regulator, the operating pilot was suspended for three months for not reporting the matter to the ground staff.