IndiGo assault case: pilot instigated man to attack, says Russian passenger

As reactions remain divided over violence on board the IndiGo flight, a passenger who witnessed the whole incident claimed that it was the co-pilot who instigated the assaulter to act violently.

Sharing her ordeal on social media X, Evgenia Belskaia, a Russian model and actress based in Delhi, said that the co-pilot kept on blaming the passengers for 13-hour delay.

"I was flying her team to Goa from Delhi and reached the airport early to board the flight, which was scheduled to take off at 7:40 am. The IndiGo team was saying that the flight had been delayed by an hour. It went on for at least 10 hours until we were allowed to board the plane."

"After boarding the aircraft, we were told that the flight had been delayed by two hours. The passengers were angry and started asking questions from the crew and the pilot," she added.

Accused Sahil Kataria was arrested for attacking the pilot when he was announcing the delay. In a video clip, Katariya was later seen being taken out of the aircraft by security personnel even as he apologised for his conduct.

The police had said that appropriate legal action would be taken after a purported video of accused Sahil Kataria pouncing on the pilot when he was announcing the flight delay due to fog and low visibility went viral.

The flight took off from Delhi at 6 pm after a delay of more than 10 hours, according to flight tracking website flightradar24.

The incident happened on a day dense fog majorly impacted operations at the Delhi airport leading to many flights being diverted, cancelled or delayed.

Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said unruly passenger behaviour is unacceptable and "will be dealt with strongly" in line with existing legal provisions.

According to him, aviation regulator DGCA will issue an SOP (standard operating procedure) for airlines on better communication and facilitation of passengers to minimise discomfort in view of flight cancellations and delays due to adverse weather.

In a statement, the airline said a passenger "assaulted" the co-pilot and that the matter had been referred to an independent internal committee for his inclusion in the "no-fly list".

In the short video clip of the incident inside the aircraft, other crew members could be seen shouting at Katariya, in a yellow jacket, after he hit the pilot.

Katariya could be heard saying that they had been sitting in the plane for long and that they should be allowed to deboard if it was not taking off.

In another video clip, Katariya was seen being taken out of the aircraft by security personnel even as he apologised for his conduct.

He was then taken to a police station and later arrested.

According to the police, the co-pilot of flight number 6E 2175, between Delhi and Goa, and other security personnel gave a complaint regarding one passenger assaulting and misbehaving with them in the flight.

Katariya misbehaved and hit co-pilot Anup Kumar and created nuisance inside the aircraft, the complaint stated.

The passenger was agitated as the flight was delayed for several hours, police said.

A case under sections 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint) and 290 (punishment for creating public nuisance) of the IPC and section 22 of the Aircraft Rules has been registered against the passenger and investigation taken up, another police officer said.

In its statement, IndiGo said the passenger was declared unruly and handed over to the local law enforcement agencies for further action as per protocol.

According to the airline, the incident is being referred to the independent internal committee for appropriate action and inclusion of the passenger on the 'no-fly list' as laid down in regulatory guidelines.

In a post on X, Scindia said all stakeholders were working round the clock to minimise fog-related impact.

"Incidences of unruly behaviour amidst this are unacceptable, and will be dealt with strongly in line with the existing legal provisions," he said.

With PTI inputs