Tipsy traveller assaults four on flight

A 42-Year-Old Indian man made a trans-Atlantic Air India flight journey nightmarish for fellow passengers, including two airhostesses, the airline said in a complaint it registered with the police.

A 42-Year-Old Indian man made a trans-Atlantic Air India flight journey nightmarish for fellow passengers, including two airhostesses, the airline said in a complaint it registered with the police.

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Valli Panicker fondled a woman passenger, assaulted another and two cabin crew members, the complaint said.

“We’ve registered a non-cognizable offence against Panicker for misbehaviour in a drunken state,” said senior inspector Dilip Patil. The police fined Panicker Rs. 1,200 and let him off.

Panicker was apparently sober when the 14-hour flight took off from New York at 7.30 a.m. Monday. But an hour and two drinks later, he began to misbehave with a woman sitting next to him. “He held her hand. When an elderly passenger intervened, he twisted the man’s hand,” an eyewitness said. He then pushed and kicked an airhostess and tried to punch another airhostess.

Throughout the 20-minute drama, the air purser didn’t offer any help, the eyewitness said. But A-I spokesperson Jitendra Bhargava said: “We have not received any complaints as of now.”