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India: Man who urinated on elderly passenger on Air India flight identified; police issue look out circular

An official said that only four crew members have joined the investigation so far and others will be joining the probe today

A look out circular (LOC) has been issued against the accused in the Air India urination incident as he was not cooperating in the matter, a Delhi Police official said on Friday.

The official further said that only four crew members have joined the investigation so far, others will be joining the probe today.

Earlier on Thursday, Delhi Police wrote a letter to the immigration authority seeking the issuance of an LOC.

The accused person has been identified as S Mishra, a resident of Mumbai.

The accused, in an inebriated condition, urinated on his co-passenger, a senior citizen in her seventies, in business class on an Air India flight from New York to New Delhi on November 26, last year.

Delhi Police earlier said that the man who allegedly urinated on an elderly woman co-passenger on board an Air India flight is a resident of Mumbai and will be arrested at the earliest.

"The accused is a resident of Mumbai, but his possible location is in some other state and the police team has reached there. We will arrest the accused at the earliest," said Delhi Police.

The Police on Wednesday filed an FIR in the shocking incident based on a complaint by Air India.

The police have registered an FIR in the matter under sections 354, 509, and 510 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 23 of the Indian Aircraft Act. Both the accused and the victim are from outside Delhi.

The victim, in her complaint filed on Wednesday, has said that she wanted the man arrested but the "crew brought the offender" before her against her wishes and he profusely apologised so that no complaint is filed against him.

In her complaint to 'Grievance Air Sewa', the woman narrated the entire incident in detail and said the man "unzipped his pants and urinated on me and kept standing there until the person sitting next to me tapped him and told him to go back to his seat".

She alleged that the Air India crew was "deeply unprofessional" and was "not proactive in managing a very sensitive and traumatic situation".

"I would like to submit a complaint about my appalling experience travelling with on Air India Business Class Flight AI102, Seat 9A, from JFK to New Delhi on 26 November 2022. During the course of the flight, shortly after lunch was served and the lights were switched off, a male business class passenger seated in 8A walked to my seat, completely inebriated. He unzipped his pants and urinated on me and kept standing there until the person sitting next to me tapped him and told him to go back to his seat, at which point he staggered back to his seat. I immediately got up to notify the stewardess of what had happened. My clothes, shoes and bag were soaked in urine," she said.

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The woman alleged that the Air India crew members did not provide her with another seat.

"The bag contained my passport, travel documents and currency. The flight staff refused to touch them, sprayed my bag and shoes with disinfectant, and took me to the bathroom and gave me a set of airline pyjamas and socks. I asked the staff for a change of seat but was told that no other seats were available. However, another business class passenger who had witnessed my plight and was advocating for me pointed out that there were seats available in first class. The flight crew told me that the pilot had vetoed giving me a seat in first class. After I had been standing for 20 minutes, one of the senior flight staff offered me the small crew seat used by the airline staff, where I sat for about 2 hours. I was then asked to return to the initial soiled seat. Although the staff had spread sheets on the seat, the area was still damp and reeking of urine and I refused to sit there. I was then given the steward seat for the rest of the journey," she further said in her compliant.

Air India on Wednesday imposed a 30-day flying ban on the man and said they have taken serious note of the incident.

While the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) also launched an investigation, Air India has set up an internal panel to probe whether there were lapses on the part of the crew in addressing the situation that caused distress to the woman.