Engineering student arrested for assaulting flight attendant in Bengaluru-bound flight

The student was travelling from Kolkata to Bengaluru when the incident occured

news Crime

A 19-year-old engineering student was arrested for allegedly assaulting an airhostess of Indigo airlines.

The teenager is a first year student of engineering at a college on Kanakapura Road in Bengaluru, and he was returning to the city from his home in Kolkata when he is said to have behaved inappropriately with the air hostess. The incident occurred on Friday night.

An official speaking to Bangalore Mirror confirmed the incident saying that the student had placed his hands on the airhostess’ shoulder when the flight was about to land in Bengaluru. “The airhostess complained to her colleagues. Few passengers who witnessed the misbehaviour caught hold of the student when he became aggressive and started to pounce on her. After the flight landed, the witness and the airhostess along with the other flight crew escorted the student to security personnel and sought their permission to hand him to the police,” said the official.

Deccan Herald reported that the youth who occupied the last seat had also slapped the airhostess and picked a fight with her when the flight was about to land, before colleagues and passengers caught him and handed him over to security guards at the Kempegowda International Airport.

“The student did not respond to our questions and remained silent when asked about the reason that made him to misbehave with her. He did not seem to be under the influence of alcohol. But as per procedure, he was taken for medical tests,” the official added speaking to Bangalore Mirror.

Based on a complaint by the victim, the police registered a case against him. T S Girish, DCP (North East) told Bangalore Mirror that the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) police arrested the student for misbehaving with the airhostess and he was remanded in judicial custody.

Earlier, TNM had done a detailed story on the kind of harassment that flight attendants face. “I’ve had passengers take photos of me and my colleagues without permission. Some request to take photos with me. I generally don’t make a fuss out of it as they can get into a lot of trouble if they post it online and it is discovered,” a flight attendant had told us.

You can read the full story here: Sickos we meet mid-air: Flight attendants narrate horrors of in-flight harassment