The Air India Express pilot, who allegedly assaulted a passenger at the Delhi airport on December 19, has been arrested, police said on Tuesday. Captain Virender Sejwal was off duty when the alleged assault took place.
Captain Virender Sejwal was off duty when the alleged assault took place. (X)
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The matter came to light after Ankit Dewan posted a photo on social media showing his injured face. Dewan said Sejwal assaulted him in front of his seven-year-old daughter, who was left traumatised.
Police said Sejwal was first detained after an inquiry for questioning on Monday. Police said they collected all evidence from the airport and security agencies and arrested him after interrogation.
Police last week said they had approached airport authorities, collected the CCTV footage showing the assault, and sent Dewan for a medical examination, which showed a nasal fracture, bruises, and injuries. They called the airport security staff for statements as they were the first to intervene.
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Deputy police commissioner Vichitra Veer said Dewan’s statement has already been recorded.
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Deputy police commissioner Vichitra Veer said Dewan’s statement has already been recorded.
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Dewan said they were asked to use the security check area that the staff uses because their four-month-old baby was with them. He added that the staff was cutting the queue ahead of him, and on calling them out, Sejwal, who was doing the same, asked him if he was uneducated and could not read the signs that said this entry was for staff.
Air India Express suspended Sejwal even as police received two cross-complaints. Sejwal, in his complaint, accused Dewan of initiating the fight by abusing him without provocation and using abusive, degrading, and threatening language. He said he also sustained injuries.
Sejwal was booked under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita’s sections 115 (voluntarily causing hurt), 126 (wrongful restraint), and 351 (criminal intimidation).
Jignasa Sinha is a Special Correspondent at Hindustan Times in New Delhi. With more than six years of reporting experience, she covers crime and policing in the national capital. Her beats also include Delhi prisons, the Delhi Fire Services and Delhi courts, while she regularly reports on gender, labour and social justice. Over the course of her career, Jignasa has reported on major criminal investigations, international crime syndicates, high-profile cyber fraud cases, law-and-order developments, protests, disasters and public institutions. Her reporting combines breaking news with in-depth, long form, human interest stories that examine the human impact of public policy, policing and the criminal justice system. In addition to reporting for the newspaper, she contributes to the Hindustan Times website and app, and plays an active role in coordinating on-ground coverage of major developments and breaking news across Delhi. Before joining Hindustan Times, Jignasa worked at The Indian Express newspaper in New Delhi, where she spent five years covering crime, Delhi airport, courts and health. She began her journalism career as an intern at an AI magazine in Bengaluru while pursuing her postgraduate diploma in multimedia journalism at the Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media.
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Home/India News/Air India Express pilot who ‘assaulted’ passenger at Delhi airport arrested after interrogation
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