Delhi police hunting down man who was allowed to leave after urinating on woman during Air India flight

NEW DELHI - Delhi police are tracking down a man who went missing after he urinated in an apparent stupor on a female fellow passenger during an Air India business class flight from New York to New Delhi in 2022.

A Look Out Circular has been issued against the man, who has been identified as Mr Shankar Mishra – vice-president of the India chapter of an American multinational financial services company headquartered in California – to prevent him from leaving the country, the Mint news site reported.

“Mishra is a resident of Mumbai. We had sent our teams to Mumbai at his known locations but he has absconded. Our teams are trying to trace him,” a senior police official was quoted as saying by the Mint.

According to NDTV, the unruly passenger was drunk during the flight on Nov 26, when he allegedly unzipped and relieved himself on a female passenger in her 70s. She wrote a letter of complaint to Air India’s group chairman a day after the incident about “the most traumatic flight” she has ever experienced.

She said that although she was offered a set of pyjamas and slippers after informing the crew that her clothes and shoes were soaked in urine, she was told to return to her seat when it was cleaned.

When she refused to return to the soiled seat, which was covered with sheets but still reeked of urine, she was offered a crew seat for the rest of the flight.

“I subsequently learnt from a fellow passenger that several seats were available in first class and he suggested to the crew that I be moved into one of those rather than being forced to sit in a soiled seat.

“Clearly, the crew did not feel that taking care of a distressed passenger was a priority.

“At the end of the flight, the staff told me they would get me a wheelchair to ensure that I clear Customs as early as possible. However, the wheelchair deposited me at a waiting area, where I waited for 30 minutes, and nobody came to get me.

“I finally had to clear Customs on my own and collected the luggage by myself – all in Air India pyjamas and socks,” she wrote.

The offender reportedly left the airport without facing any action upon landing.

Although the mid-air urination case happened in November last year, the Tata Group-owned Air India filed a police complaint only on Jan 4 as it felt both sides had “settled the matter”, NDTV reported.

The victim also said she was “stunned” when Mr Mishra was brought before her by the flight crew and begged for her forgiveness, even though she had told them she wanted him arrested and did not wish to see him. The airline also gave Mr Mishra her contact number.

The shocking incident prompted the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), India’s air safety watchdog, to issue a notice on Thursday to the airline’s accountable manager, director of in-flight services, and all the pilots and cabin crew members of that flight, asking them to explain within two weeks why action should not be taken against them for failing to uphold regulations.

“It emerges that provisions related to handling of an unruly passenger on board have not been complied with,” the DGCA said in a statement.

“The conduct of the concerned airline appears to be unprofessional and has led to a systemic failure.”

In 2017, India issued new norms barring unruly passengers from flying for a minimum of three months to more than two years, depending on the nature of the misdemeanour.

“As a first step, Air India has banned the passenger for 30 days, the maximum it is permitted to unilaterally do so, and reported the matter to the DGCA for further action,” the airline said in a statement.

Air India reported on Thursday a second incident, which took place on a Dec 6 fight from Paris to Delhi during which a male passenger urinated on a vacant seat and the blanket of another passenger.

Air India added that the male passenger on the Paris flight had been taken into custody on arrival in Delhi but was later released by federal police after he reached an understanding with the victim and tendered a written apology.

The airline added that it did not lodge a police report in deference to the victim’s wishes, Reuters reported.