india

Updated: Apr 25, 2019 23:36 IST

A female cabin crew member of domestic carrier IndiGo has alleged sexual harassment by a pilot of the same airline. The alleged incident happened on April 16, when the flight she was on-board was cruising and the co-pilot was in the washroom, she said in her complaint to the Delhi Police, a copy of which has been reviewed by HT.

The victim alleged that she had gone to serve the pilot hot water and was sitting as observer when he asked her for a selfie and then molested her.

“I was operating [on a] Bengaluru-Amritsar-Srinagar-Delhi flight on April 16 and during the first leg of the flight, the captain asked another crew to send me in the cockpit along with hot water. I went inside the cockpit and first officer went out to use the washroom. I saw captain had his mobile phone in his hand with camera on mode. I took the observer seat afterwards,” the woman said in her complaint.

While Delhi police have registered a case of harassment, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, India’s aviation regulator, is also investigating the matter as it is linked to safety of passengers. “Immediately, when first officer went out and closed the door, he asked me to take a selfie with him, which I clearly denied it. Then he got up from the seat and move towards me, which made me uncomfortable and then I also got up from my seat,” she claimed.

She then described how the captain sexually harassed her till first officer came inside the cockpit.

The woman also alleged that after landing at Amritsar, the pilot came to her and asked for phone number and continued to stalk her after every landing. He also tried to hug her after landing in Delhi, which was the final destination for flight and crew members. The woman informed the rest of the crew and the airline management in Delhi about the incident and filed a first information report (FIR) with the Delhi Police next day.

An IndiGo spokesperson said, “The company is looking into an incident on-board Bengaluru-Amritsar-Srinagar-Delhi flight on April 16 and will be investigating the matter as per its applicable policy. Following the completion of investigation, the company will take necessary action.”