German pilot

Jet Airways

Harbhajan Singh

Bernd Hoesslin

Chandigarh-Mumbai flight

Pooja Singh Gujral

Jatinder Singh

Thehas also named the cricketer’s two fellow passengers and the airline in defamation case.A German pilot who was sacked byafter being branded a racist byand two fellow passengers has slapped a $15-million defamation lawsuit against the three., who was also accused of mocking disability, has named the airline, too, in the suit for firing him over what he calls baseless allegations, his lawyer said on Friday.Hoesslin was the commander of aon April 3, and Harbhajan was on board with singerand, who uses a personalised wheelchair because of polio. Hoesslin had a serious argument with the three over Jatinder’s wheelchair while the aircraft was being refuelled, according to reports.Weeks later, Harbhajan fired off a series of tweets alleging that Hoesslin assaulted Pooja and verbally abused Jatinder.“So called this Bernd Hoesslin a pilot with @jetairways called my fellow indian (u bloody indian get out of my flight) while he is earning here,” he wrote. “Not only was he racist but physically assaulted a lady and abused a physically challenged man… absolutely disgraceful &shame on @jetairways.”The cricketer also tweeted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding action against the expat pilot. Pooja filed a non-cognisable complaint with the Sahar police, claiming the pilot hurled racist abuses and made fun of Jatinder’s disability.Samit Shukla, a litigation partner with Mumbai-based DSK Legal, which is assisting Hoesslin in his legal fight, rejected the allegations against the German. “Our client was sacked by his employer on very flimsy ground. And he was never racist and unparliamentary in his behaviour and verbal exchanges. He is a star pilot with 14,600 hours of flying experience,” Shukla said.Hoesslin, who had been employed with Jet for over three years, has returned to his home country. According to Shukla, the pilot was merely following flight-safety rules when he raised concerns over the wheelchair.“The incident happened in the galley area of the aircraft, which is a sterile zone and the pilot, as the primary and sole commander of the aircraft, is entitled to exercise his powers if certain developments interfere with the safety aspects of an airplane,” he said.“On that day, Hoesslin requested that Jatinder Singh’s wheelchair, which was stationed in the galley area, be shifted a little away on the aerobridge as the aircraft was undergoing re-fuelling in Mumbai.”The aviation regulator DGCA had set the aircraft safety rules and Hoesslin was well within his limits to “do what he eventually did”, Shukla added.Jet Airways said the pilot was derostered pending an investigation “since the time we got to know” about the alleged incident. “We take a very serious view of such issues,” it said. But the airline on Friday refused to comment on the lawsuit.Pooja, meanwhile, said she was shocked by Hoesslin’s behaviour. “The pilot was rude and uncouth, and even pushed me and abused me. Which was why I decided to move a complaint in the first place,” she said.“We were shocked at the way the pilot chose to conduct himself. As an Indian, I felt humiliated and emotionally scarred.”