A SpiceJet passenger, Ankit Dewan, alleged that he was physically assaulted by an off-duty pilot of Air India Express at Delhi airport's Terminal 1 on Friday following a verbal spat over the pilot cutting the security queue.
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The verbal argument turned physical when the pilot, captain Virender Sejwal, allegedly physically attacked Dewan in front of his family, leaving the latter profusely bleeding.
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Dewan took to social media to share his ordeal and alleged that he was “forced” to write a letter stating that he won’t pursue the matter further or he would miss his flight and his holiday bookings worth ₹1.2 lakh would go “down the drain”.
Here are some shocking revelations into what happened-
- In his post on X (formerly Twitter), Dewan tagged Delhi Police and questioned why can’t he file a complaint once he is back from the holiday. “Must I sacrifice my money too, to seek justice? Will the CCTV footage disappear in the 2 days till I make it back to Delhi?” he wrote.
- The Delhi Police said on Saturday that it has not received any formal complaint regarding the incident. "With reference to a social media post posted on platform X by an Ankit Dewan, alleging physical assault by an Air India Express pilot at Terminal-1 of the airport- No such matter has been reported to the police station either by Ankit Dewan or by the airlines. The matter has come to the knowledge of the police through this social media post. Whenever a written complaint is received by the victim, in this regard, appropriate legal action will be taken," the Delhi Police said, reported news agency ANI.
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Also read: ‘Leaving me bloody’: Man alleges assault by Air India Express pilot at Delhi airport, airline reacts
- While Dewan had detailed his ordeal through his social media post, he described the incident as being “very disturbing” and said that he did not expect something like this to happen at an airport.
- "I think it is very appalling how things went down and how people are very quick to get physical and you assault somebody. I did not expect this at the airport. It happens on the streets all the time, but at the airport, it's very, very disturbing," he said while speaking to NDTV.
- Describing how the incident unfolded, Dewan said that it happened during the security check as he and his family “were guided to use the security check that the staff uses (also the PRM check), because we had a 4 month old baby in a stroller.” During the check, Dewan wrote on X, “The staff was cutting the queue ahead of me. On calling them out, Capt. Virender, who himself was doing the same thing, asked me if I was anpadh (uneducated), and couldn't read the signs that said this entry was for staff.”
- Dewan told NDTV that it was the “anpadh” remarks which did not sit well with them and the situation escalated into a verbal spat. "I don't know why he decided to address a passenger as uneducated. That ticked me off. Both of us exchanged expletives. This was just a verbal spat and I didn't expect he would come and hit me. That is how it escalated," he said.
- Describing the entire incident as “traumatising”, particularly for his daughter and wife, Dewan said, "By the evening, I think, my daughter appeared to be a little okay. But during the flight, she was very disturbed. She has flown multiple times, but this is the first time she was afraid of flying. My wife was holding strong, but at night, once the children were asleep, she let out the stress and started crying," he said. "It was traumatizing for everybody," he added.
- On Saturday morning, Dewan shared another post accompanied by a video of the alleged accused captain Virender Sejwal, which he described as the accused “looking at me lying on the floor, covered in blood, and probably realising the gravity of the situation for the first time.”
- Dewan alleged that there was a delay in him receiving the first aid. He added that his wife allegedly heard the accused telling a security personnel that he would go and beat him, however, there was no preventive action. “Virender Sejwal was getting frisked at the Security Check while continuing his verbal spat with me. There, he told the CISF guy "main issko maar ke aata hu" (I'll come back after hitting him). My wife who had already cleared security check through the ladies line, heard it clearly. But did CISF take any preventive action? No,” Dewan wrote on X.
- Dewan expressed gratitude to SpiceJet for being in “constant communication with the gate” and helping him catch his plane even after the entire episode, to which, the airline responded, “Hi Ankit! we are glad that our staff was able to assist you. Thank you for your kind words.”
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Also read: ‘Leaving me bloody’: Man alleges assault by Air India Express pilot at Delhi airport, airline reacts
- While Dewan had detailed his ordeal through his social media post, he described the incident as being “very disturbing” and said that he did not expect something like this to happen at an airport.
- "I think it is very appalling how things went down and how people are very quick to get physical and you assault somebody. I did not expect this at the airport. It happens on the streets all the time, but at the airport, it's very, very disturbing," he said while speaking to NDTV.
- Describing how the incident unfolded, Dewan said that it happened during the security check as he and his family “were guided to use the security check that the staff uses (also the PRM check), because we had a 4 month old baby in a stroller.” During the check, Dewan wrote on X, “The staff was cutting the queue ahead of me. On calling them out, Capt. Virender, who himself was doing the same thing, asked me if I was anpadh (uneducated), and couldn't read the signs that said this entry was for staff.”
- Dewan told NDTV that it was the “anpadh” remarks which did not sit well with them and the situation escalated into a verbal spat. "I don't know why he decided to address a passenger as uneducated. That ticked me off. Both of us exchanged expletives. This was just a verbal spat and I didn't expect he would come and hit me. That is how it escalated," he said.
- Describing the entire incident as “traumatising”, particularly for his daughter and wife, Dewan said, "By the evening, I think, my daughter appeared to be a little okay. But during the flight, she was very disturbed. She has flown multiple times, but this is the first time she was afraid of flying. My wife was holding strong, but at night, once the children were asleep, she let out the stress and started crying," he said. "It was traumatizing for everybody," he added.
- On Saturday morning, Dewan shared another post accompanied by a video of the alleged accused captain Virender Sejwal, which he described as the accused “looking at me lying on the floor, covered in blood, and probably realising the gravity of the situation for the first time.”
- Dewan alleged that there was a delay in him receiving the first aid. He added that his wife allegedly heard the accused telling a security personnel that he would go and beat him, however, there was no preventive action. “Virender Sejwal was getting frisked at the Security Check while continuing his verbal spat with me. There, he told the CISF guy "main issko maar ke aata hu" (I'll come back after hitting him). My wife who had already cleared security check through the ladies line, heard it clearly. But did CISF take any preventive action? No,” Dewan wrote on X.
- Dewan expressed gratitude to SpiceJet for being in “constant communication with the gate” and helping him catch his plane even after the entire episode, to which, the airline responded, “Hi Ankit! we are glad that our staff was able to assist you. Thank you for your kind words.”
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