Man held for creating ruckus at Delhi airport

DCP Ranjan said that Pandey, a businessman from Deoria in Uttar Pradesh, was arrested based on a complaint received from Deepak Chadha, Deputy Manager of Vistara Airlines.

A 36-year-old businessman was arrested at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport for allegedly creating a ruckus after being denied boarding by airline officials for not carrying the mandatory RT-PCR report.

The airline staff alerted the CISF personnel who caught Pandey and handed him over to the police, the DCP said. (Representational image)

“We registered a case under Sections 92, 93 and 97 (punishment for obstructing or annoying passengers in the street and misbehaviour with intent to provoke a breach of the peace) of Delhi Police (DP) Act and arrested the passenger, identified as Suraj Pandey,” said deputy commissioner of police (IGI Airport) Rajeev Ranjan.

DCP Ranjan said that Pandey, a businessman from Deoria in Uttar Pradesh, was arrested based on a complaint received from Deepak Chadha, Deputy Manager of Vistara Airlines. In his complaint, Chadha alleged that the passenger had come to the Delhi airport’s T3 terminal to board a Vistara Airlines flight to Mumbai without the mandatory RT-PCR report -- mandatory for any air travel -- following which he was denied permission to board the flight.

The airline official said that Pandey allegedly turned violent, started shouting and even started walking on the baggage conveyor belt, thereby obstructing the airline staff and other passengers.

The airline staff alerted the CISF personnel who caught Pandey and handed him over to the police, the DCP said.

“We checked the CCTV footage that verified the allegations of the complainant. Accordingly, a case was registered and Pandey was arrested. His medical examination was also conducted. He was later released on bail,” he said.

An official statement issued by the Vistara spokesperson said the passenger was not carrying an RT-PCR report.

“He behaved badly with our staff and other customers, and his acts threatened the safety of ground operations. We have provided a full refund of the booking to the customer and notified the authorities of the incident,” the spokesperson added.