Compensation was returned: Man at the centre of Air India urination controversy

Not one but two incidents have been reported on Air India flights lately.

Published on: Jan 6, 2023, 16:51:16 IST

By HT News Desk | Written by Swati Bhasin

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Amid outrage over the Air India urination incident on the November 26 New York-Delhi flight, Shankar Mishra, the man at the centre of the controversy, is now reported to have issued a statement. Released by his lawyers, as per news agency ANI, the statement underlines that “the accused has full faith in the judicial system of the country and will cooperate with the investigation process”. This comes a day after the Delhi Police had issued a lookout circular against him.

Asking the company why action should not be taken in light of such an apparent conduct, the DGCA issued a show-cause notice to Air India. (HT Archive)

Mumbai-based Sanjay Mishra has been accused of urinating on an elderly passenger in the flight. Apart from expressing anger against the man, the elderly woman had also accused the Air India staff of being “deeply unprofessional” in her complaint. She even said that she was forced to confront the accused despite her unwillingness.

Meanwhile, Mishra’s lawyers - Ishanee Sharma and Akshat Bajpa - on his behalf have stated: “The WhatsApp messages between the accused and the lady clearly show that the accused had got the clothes and bags cleaned on November 28 and the same was delivered on November 30,”. The statement, cited by ANI, further stresses that the lady in this case has displayed no intent of filing a complaint.

"The lady's persisting grievance was only with respect to the adequate compensation being paid by the Airline for which she has raised a subsequent complaint on December 20, 2022," it underlines. Mishra also paid the compensation, according to the lawyers, as agreed between the parties on Paytm on November 28. After nearly a month, however, on December 19, the woman’s daughter had returned the money.

The case, however, has triggered huge anger and the matter is no longer limited to compensation. A similar incident was reported on another flight of Air India. On Friday, the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) issued a notice to the Delhi Police over alleged harassment and misconduct by passengers. The panel has also sought a report on the action taken against the airline for negligence in the matter by January 10.

(With inputs from ANI, PTI)

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HT News Desk
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