Air India 'urinating' case: The peeing incident on a septuagenarian woman onboard an Air India flight from New York to Delhi has sent shockwaves across the nation. More details regarding the incident are being reported every passing day. A co-passenger on the flight came out and spoke about the incident today. Commenting on the accused person, the co-passenger Sugata Bhattacharjee said, "Incident happened after lunch was served. He (accused) had 4 drinks & then was asking me the same questions multiple times. I finished lunch, told the flight attendant to keep an eye on him."
Dr. Sugata Bhattacharjee, a US-based renowned Doctor of Audiology, was seated next to Shankar Mishra who allegedly urinated on a woman co-passenger during the November 26 Air India flight from New York to New Delhi.
"I would not have been this vocal. I waited but when his father said this did not happen, is what triggered me," Bhattacharjee told PTI.
"The dignity of a woman was played with. The Tatas name has been tarnished. It's not a happy story. But at the end of the day, it was a moral call for me, it was morality and I thought it was my moral obligation to stand and make a complaint and I did,” he said.
Bhattacharjee went on to say, "The lady (victim) was quite decent. Two junior Air hostesses cleaned her up. I went to the senior stewardess and asked them to give her another seat, she said that she can't do that as they had to take permission from the Captain."
He criticized the airline staff for their cold response. "Only option for her was to move to 1st class as business class was full, what they (flight crew) did was clean her seat & kept blankets on seat smelling of urine. They could've given Shankar Mishra's seat but they didn't do anything to pacify distressed passenger," said Bhattacharjee.
'False case,' comments father of accused
Denying the allegations against his son, Shyam Mishra, father of Shankar Mishra said, "False case. My son hadn't slept for 30-35 hrs. After dinner, he might've consumed the drink given by the crew & then slept. From what I understand, he was questioned by airline staff after he woke up."
"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 added.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Police have arrested the accused from Bengaluru after he was traced to the city through technical surveillance. A Delhi court on Saturday sent Mishra to judicial remand for 14 days while rejecting a plea by police for his custody.
(With inputs from agencies)
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