A woman travelling on an IndiGo flight from Mumbai to Guwahati described her horrific encounter with alleged sexual harassment from a co-passenger in a disturbing incident that points out the significance of passenger safety. The incident has caused disgust and calls for harsh punishment for those involved.
She had an aisle seat, had lowered the armrests, and had dozed off after the cabin lights were turned down. When she awoke, the armrest was up, and the male passenger was leaning in close. “I found it strange because I clearly remember putting my hand down. “I was half-asleep, so I didn’t think too much about it, put the armrest back down, and went back to sleep,” she explained. She awoke with a jolt after some time to find the male passenger’s hands on her.
“His eyes were shut. I didn’t want to jump to conclusions, so I waited, kept my eyes half-closed, and pretended to be asleep,” she said. Within a few minutes, she noticed the co-passenger groping her while inappropriately touching himself. “I wanted to scream, but I couldn’t. I froze,” she said. She eventually regained her composure, and when he tried to grope her again, she yanked his hand away, yelled, turned on the seat lights, and screamed to call the crew.
In another reported instance of sexual harassment on an aircraft, a male passenger allegedly lifted the armrest and inappropriately reached for a female co-passenger on a late-night trip from Mumbai to Guwahati on Saturday.
According to the airline, a FIR was filed, and the individual was turned over to the police in Guwahati. More than four sexual harassment allegations involving Indian passengers on aeroplanes have been reported in the last two months. The most recent incident occurred on board IndiGo flight 6E-5319, which took off from Mumbai shortly after 9 p.m. and arrived 15 minutes after midnight. The woman informed me that she was recovering from a hospital stay while recounting her ordeal.
“He began apologising for what he did while I was screaming, crying, and narrating the incident,” she explained. IndiGo stated in a statement that the passenger was handed over to Guwahati police upon arrival after the woman passenger filed a complaint about alleged sexual harassment. “An FIR has been filed with the local police by the complainant, and we will provide support in their inquiry,” the statement stated.
The woman expressed gratitude to the airline, the CISF, the airport officials, and the witness who remained at the police station to sign up the case. “The world desperately needs more people like you,” she remarked.
Following a complaint from another passenger on the trip, the airline quickly responded to the event, noting that the accused passenger was handed over to the Guwahati police upon landing.
The complaint has been filed with the local police, and IndiGo has informed the investigators that it will fully cooperate. The airline, known for its dedication to passenger safety and security, issued a statement pledging to assist authorities in any manner necessary. The victim, a public relations executive, boldly shared her horrific incident on social media, putting light on the nightmare she went through. Her report provides insight into the internal shock she experienced on the flight.
She was travelling with her sister on the tragic flight, but owing to last-minute booking difficulties, they were unable to acquire adjacent seats. As a result, she was assigned an aisle seat (7D) while her sister was positioned elsewhere. She sat in her seat, exhausted from her recent hospitalisation, hoping to get home quickly, enjoy home-cooked meals, and regain her strength.
Her trip, however, took a terrifying turn when she awoke to find the seat armrest raised up and another passenger seated unpleasantly right next to her. She pushed the handle right back down and tried to continue her rest, first ignoring it as a possible misunderstanding.
She felt a startling and frightening sensation as the cabin lights went down late at night. As the passenger’s hands kept trying to attack her personal space, her alertness led her to believe that the act was not accidental. She attempted to defend herself, frozen by what had happened, until she gathered the strength to grab the offender’s hand in order to raise the alarm.
“I’ve always thought of myself as mentally strong, having been through 10 times the trauma in my life, all of which revolved around harassment of various kinds. I’m confident that I’ll regain control of my thoughts, as I always have. It is just a matter of time. “Perhaps someday I’ll share my past experiences if it helps anyone,” she wrote on X.
Responding quickly to her distress, the cabin crew took action, informing the pilots, who then notified authorities on the ground. When the suspected traveller landed, airport personnel and police quickly seized him, beginning a series of procedures that included medical checks and police station inspections.