Air India urination case: Woman peed on herself, claims accused
Accused Shankar Mishra, the Mumbai businessman arrested for reportedly urinating on a co-passenger on an Air India's New York-Delhi flight in November, infirmed a court in Delhi that he didn't commit the deplorable act. As per the news outlet The Indian Express, the accused on Friday alleged that the elderly woman had urinated on herself.
Why does this story matter?
- Mishra's astonishing claim came while responding to a notice by the sessions court on a Delhi Police application requesting custody for interrogating him.
- On Saturday, the accused was sent to a two-week judicial remand by a Delhi court that rejected the police's request for custody.
- An FIR was registered in the case on January 4, almost 40 days after the November 26 incident.
Victim woman suffered from prostate-related disease: Mishra's advocate
Ramesh Gupta, Mishra's defense advocate, claimed that the woman was "suffering from some disease related to the prostate which several 'kathak dancers' seem to suffer from." Gupta further claimed that the airplane's seating arrangement was such that no one could reach the victim's seat. "Her seat could only be approached from behind," so "the urine could not reach the seat's front area," he added.
Receiving threats from those close to Mishra: Victim
During Mishra's bail hearing, which was rejected by the court, his lawyers made no reference to this latest claim of not peeing on the victim. They had argued that it "was not driven by sexual desire nor aimed at outraging the complainant's modesty." The woman, who filed the complaint, also told the court she was receiving threats from those close to Mishra.
Accused's father sent 'karma will hit you' message: Victim
"I'm regularly receiving messages, threatening me. The accused's father sent me a message and said 'karma will hit you' and then deleted the message. They're sending me messages and deleting them. This needs to stop," the woman's lawyers was quoted as saying by NDTV.
Cabin crew, pilot of Air India's New York-Delhi flight grounded
Amid the ongoing row, Air India officially grounded four crew members and a pilot of the New York to Delhi flight on Saturday. The airline sent a show-cause notice to the flight crew over the incident, which has been witnessing a nationwide outrage. In another statement, Air India also admitted that this entire incident should've been managed more efficiently.
Air India receives DGCA notice for not reporting unruly passengers
Air India received a show cause notice on Monday from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for not reporting the rowdy behaviors of two drunk passengers on its Paris-Delhi flight on December 6, 2022. The notice also stated that the airline did not report two other incidents where one passenger had reportedly smoked near the washroom and the other urinated on a co-passenger.
