IndiGo Employee Alleges Casteist Abuse by Seniors, Files Police Complaint
Employee from Scheduled Caste claims harassment during meeting; IndiGo calls allegations baseless and vows cooperation
Gurugram: An IndiGo trainee pilot has accused his three seniors for using casteist slurs against him during a company meeting. In an FIR filed with Gurugram Police, the trainee pilot alleged that he was berated by the seniors saying he was being pressured to resign after he flagged the issue. IndiGo, however, dismissed the claims as "baseless" and said it will extend its support to the law enforcement agencies as required. The airline added it maintains a zero-tolerance policy towards any form of harassment.
"IndiGo upholds a zero-tolerance policy towards any form of discrimination, harassment, or bias and remains firmly committed to being an inclusive and respectful workplace. IndiGo strongly refutes these baseless claims and stands by its values of fairness, integrity and accountability and will extend its support to the law enforcement agencies as required," the airline spokesperson said.
In his complaint to police, the trainee pilot, Mr Sharan A, alleged that he belongs to the Adi Dravida community, a Scheduled Caste, and was subjected to caste-based remarks several times at the workplace. "Caste-based verbal abuse, discrimination and threats were made. I was insulted in front of everyone...Even before this, I faced continuous and targeted harassment and discriminatory behaviour. I was issued several warning letters without any fault or proof. Salary cuts, sick leaves curtailed without any valid reason, staff travel and ACM privileges cancelled... The accused also pressured me to resign," said complainant said in his complaint.
He further alleged that he informed the CEO and the ethics committee of IndiGo about what happened during the April 28 meeting, but since no action was taken, he lodged a police complaint.
Meanwhile, ṭhe Indore-Bhubaneswar IndiGo flight was delayed by an hour after technical snag was noticed in it when the plane was heading towards the runway for take-off. The plane was brought back to the apron and took off an hour later after the snag was rectified.
In another incident, an Air India Express flight from Delhi to Srinagar via Jammu returned to its origin airport. The flight was supposed to land in Jammu around noon before leaving for Srinagar, but it hovered over the Jammu airport for sometime before its pilot decided to return to Delhi without landing. The weather and the runway were clear, but it seems the pilot could not find the appropriate landing area, officials said.
