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Air India drunk passenger case: Accused yet to be arrested; US firm fires him over ‘disturbing allegations’
Shankar Mishra, who flew on an Air India flight from New York to Delhi on November 26 and allegedly urinated on a co-passenger while being drunk, was fired by US multinational Wells Fargo over the “disturbing allegations” that have now sparked a manhunt with Delhi Police on the lookout for him
Shankar Mishra, who flew on an Air India flight from New York to Delhi on November 26 and allegedly urinated on a co-passenger while being drunk, was fired by US multinational Wells Fargo on Friday over the “disturbing allegations” that have now sparked a manhunt with Delhi Police on the lookout for him.
Mishra has been on the run ever since he left his Bengaluru residence and switched off his phone on Wednesday evening after learning about the police case against him, officers aware of the developments said. Police teams have zeroed in on the vehicle – a red Jeep SUV – that Mishra left in and has since remained untraceable.
“We spoke to his family members in Bangalore. They told us that Mishra was disturbed after knowing about the FIR against him, had been resolved after he apologised to the woman, and compensated for the incident by paying her. The money, however, was later returned to him by the woman. He left home in the red Jeep SUV belonging to his family, saying he would return after sometime. However, he did not return and switched off his cellphone,” said one of the officers, who did not want to be identified.
Police officers and Mishra’s family members told HT that crew from the flight and Mishra’s father Shyam Mishra have been summoned for questioning on Saturday.
Police teams that have reached Bengaluru obtained CCTV footage of Mishra leaving the apartment in the red SUV. A second investigator, who asked not to be named, said details of Mishra’s vehicle’s FASTag have been retrieved and toll booths in and around Bengaluru are being monitored for transactions.
“We are also monitoring financial transactions of his bank accounts and UPIs to establish his location. A vigil has also been kept on his Mumbai house, where his wife lives. His sister had made attempts to contact the complainant to request her for withdrawing the case,” the officer added.
Mishra’s employer, Wells Fargo, meanwhile, issued a statement on Friday saying he had been sacked.
“Wells Fargo holds employees to the highest standards of professional and personal behaviour and we find these allegations deeply disturbing. This individual has been terminated from Wells Fargo. We are cooperating with law enforcement and ask that any additional inquiries be directed to them,” said the banking major, where Mishra worked as a vice president.
Lawyers representing Mishra issued the first statement on his behalf, saying WhatsApp messages exchanged between him and the co-passenger show the “lady in her message has clearly condoned the alleged” and showed no intention of lodging a complaint against him. “The lady’s persisting grievance was only with respect to the adequate compensation being paid by the airline for which she has raised subsequent complaint on December 20, 2022,” said the statement.
Mishra’s father, Shyam, said: “We will be moving the court where the offence is registered” and added that his son told the family about the incident 10 days ago, and that he did not misbehave with the woman.
Police said that statements of four Air India crew members of the flight have been recorded, while five more have been asked to join the probe and give their statement, and that their testimonies appeared to back the woman’s allegations.
“The woman, in her complaint, said that she had informed the crew members of the incident as it happened. In their statements received by us, they have said that they could smell urine on the woman’s shoes and bag, which corroborates her statement,” another officer said, requesting not to be named.
Mishra’s lawyers, however, claimed that there were no eyewitnesses to the incident and all the statements are hearsay evidence.
“We are in the process of identifying passengers who were on the flight at the time and we shall ask them to join the probe and submit their statements as well,” a third investigator said.
