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Man at centre of Air India urination row sent to 14-day custody, he seeks bail
The man has been accused on an elderly fellow flyer on an Air India flight.
Hours after Shankar Mishra - the man at the centre of Air India urination incident - was arrested on Saturday, the Delhi Police sought his custody as he was produced in the national capital's Patiala House Court. He was reported to have been arrested by the Delhi Police from Bengaluru last night amid massive anger weeks after the incident on the November 26 New York-Delhi flight incident. The huge outrage - following the incident - has also prompted a firm response from the DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation), which has now asked airlines to use restraining devices, if needed, to tackle unruly passengers.
As he was produced in the court, the Delhi Police was asked the location of the arrest. While the court refused the Delhi Police's request, Mishra has been sent to judicial custody for 14 days. Manu Sharma, counsel for Shankar Mishra, has also moved a bail application. The court issued notice for the next date of hearing on January 11.
After the arrest, Mishra was also taken to the Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi for medical examination before he was produced in the court. Mishra has been accused of urinating on an elderly fellow passenger on the Air India flight in a drunk state. The elderly woman was subjected to the misbehaviour also accused the Air India staff of not handling the situation in a professional manner.
On Saturday, Air India chief executive officer (CEO) Campbell Wilson acknowledged that the carrier could have handled the situation better. "Air India is deeply concerned about the in-flight instances where customers have suffered due to the condemnable acts of their co-passengers on our aircraft. We regret and are pained about these experiences," his statement read.
This is not the only such incident linked to the airline in the past few weeks. A similar incident was also reported on the December 6 Paris-New Delhi flight. The DGCA on Friday noted that inaction in such cases massively hits the image of the sector.
