Air India peeing controversy: In a major development, the main accused who urinated on an elderly woman on an Air India flight was arrested by the Delhi police from Bengaluru.
The accused, Shankar Mishra, had urinated on his co-passenger, a senior citizen in her 70s, allegedly in an inebriated condition in the business class of the Air India flight on November 26 last year.
Citing Delhi Police, news agency ANI reported that the accused was arrested last night and has already been brought to the national capital. He will be presented before the court on Saturday.
"We assisted the Delhi police in picking him up. He has been picked up but we don't know whether he has been formally arrested," a top police officer told PTI. The officer said Mishra was held from the Sanjay Nagar area.
Earlier on Friday, Delhi Police summoned Air India staff in connection with the incident. According to PTI sources, the Air India staff, including the pilot and co-pilot, were issued a summons for Friday, but they didn't appear. Now, they have been summoned to the office of the deputy commissioner of police (airport) at 10:30 am on January 7, the sources said on Friday.
Wells Fargo sacks Mishra for his conduct
It is worth mentioning that the major development came nearly two days after Police registered an FIR and formed several teams to nab the accused passenger.
Mishra is the vice president of the India Chapter of an American multinational financial services company headquartered in California. The office of the accused is situated in Bengaluru and it was found during a preliminary investigation that he was working from home, the officer said.
On Friday, US-based financial services company Wells Fargo terminated Mishra after it found their employee involved in such "drastic behaviour". "Wells Fargo holds employees to the highest standards of professional and personal behaviour and we find these allegations deeply disturbing. This individual has been terminated from Wells Fargo. We are cooperating with law enforcement and ask that any additional inquiries be directed to them," the company said in a statement.
Father denied allegations
While speaking to ANI, Shyam Mishra, father of the accused, refuted the claims and claimed his son was "being blackmailed". According to the father, the woman had demanded payment and was paid.
"She (victim) had demanded payment and it was made. Don't know what happened next. Must have demanded something that perhaps wasn't met that upset her. Perhaps there was blackmailing, there must be something," he said.
"False case. My son hadn't slept for 30-35 hrs. After dinner, he might've consumed the drink given by the crew and then slept. From what I understand, he was questioned by airline staff after he woke up," he said. Shyam Mishra claimed that his son could not have committed such an offence. "I don't think he would do it. She (the victim) is a 72-year-old woman, she is like his mother. He (the accused, his son) is a 34-year-old man. How can he do it? He is married and has an 18-year-old daughter," he said.
Also Read: Wells Fargo sacks employee accused of 'urinating' on co-passenger in Air India flight
