Mumbai: Cricketer Harbhajan Singh kicked up a storm on social media on Wednesday by demanding action against an expatriate pilot of Jet Airways who allegedly misbehaved with a woman and a physically challenged passenger.
Jet Airways issued a statement on Wednesday night that they had derostered the pilot. Mumbai-based film producer Pooja Gujral had spoken about the incident involving her friend Jatinder Singh (37), a music director, herself and the pilot on April 6. Ms Gujral had complained to the airline but said she’s yet to get a reply. Also, the local police had allegedly refused to file an FIR when she had approached them.
Ms Gujral and Harbhajan, a close friend, happened to discuss the incident after which he tweeted on Wednesday, saying, “Not only was he (the pilot) racist but he also physically assaulted a lady and abused a physically challenged man..absolutely disgraceful &shame on @jetairways (sic).” Immediately after this incident, Jet Airways’ Indian pilots had been asked by their union not to fly with expat pilots from May over alleged cases of misbehaviour by expat pilots towards pilots and passengers.
Harbhajan says Pilot had yelled, ‘You bloody Indian’
Ms Gujral and Mr Singh had to face physical and verbal abuse owing to the latter’s wheelchair, which, according to the pilot, had delayed the flight. The duo, returning from Chandigarh, were waiting for the wheelchair to be handed over to them by the ground staff. The pilot allegedly went up to them and yelled at them, telling them the wheelchair check-in had delayed the flight.
Ms Gujral lodged a written complaint with the airline but Sahar police allegedly refused to lodge an FIR as the pilot “hadn’t sexually abused or raped her.” = They later filed a complaint.
“He started screaming and pushed my hand saying ‘get out’. I moved him aside and warned him not to touch me and he said ‘you bloody Indian’. Mr Singh intervened but he was nasty and rude to him too,” Ms Gujral told DC.
