Sahil Kataria: What we know about IndiGo passenger who attacked pilot over Delhi-Goa flight delay

Sahil Kataria, the unruly passenger who allegedly punched an IndiGo Airlines pilot, was heading to Goa with his wife for their honeymoon.

Published on: Jan 16, 2024, 10:48:48 IST

By HT News Desk

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Sahil Kataria, the unruly passenger who allegedly punched an IndiGo Airlines pilot when he was announcing a delay in takeoff at the Delhi airport due to fog, was heading to Goa with his wife for their honeymoon on Sunday.

The passenger has been identified as Sahil Kataria,

In a purported video, which has gone viral online, Sahil Kataria can be seen hitting co-pilot Anup Kumar as he was announcing the flight. According to flight tracking website flightradar24, the IndiGo flight took off from Delhi at 6pm after a delay of more than 10 hours.

Who is Sahil Kataria?

Sahil Kataria, 28, runs a stationery and toy shop in South Delhi’s Amar Colony,
Kataria lives with his family in East of Kailash.
After the video surfaced of the incident, Kataria was arrested and later released on bail by the Delhi Police after a notice was served to him under Section 41 of CrPC.
So far, he has not been placed on any no-fly list.
In the short video clip of the incident inside the flight, other crew members can be seen shouting at Kataria, in a yellow jacket, after he hit the pilot.
Kataria could be heard saying that they had been sitting in the plane for long and that they should be allowed to deboard if it was not taking off.
“Chalana hai to chala, nahi to mat chala, khol de (If you want to fly the plane, do so; otherwise, open the aircraft door)," Kataria is purportedly heard saying in the video clip.
Later, in another video clip, Kataria is seen being taken out of the aircraft by security personnel even as he apologised for his conduct.

The police said the co-pilot of flight number 6E 2175 and other security personnel lodged a complaint regarding the passenger assaulting and misbehaving with them on the flight.
Kataria misbehaved and hit co-pilot Anup Kumar and created a nuisance inside the aircraft, the complaint stated.

(With inputs from agencies)

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