Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapati Raju on Wednesday summoned IndiGo staff a day after the private airline was accused of physically assaulting and manhandling a passenger in October. The victim has also been asked to meet the minister, The Times of India reported.
“Can’t go into who is right and who is wrong at this stage,” Raju told ANI. “Any violation has to be looked into. These kind of barbarous things shouldn’t be allowed,” he added.
The passenger, 53-year-old Rajeev Katiyal, said he was assaulted on October 15, after arriving in New Delhi from Chennai. A video released by Times Now on Tuesday showed two ground personnel restraining and stopping him from boarding the shuttle bus that takes passengers from the tarmac to the terminals.
Katiyal told the television channel that he was standing under the shade of the plane as it was a hot day, but the ground staff reportedly rudely told him to move. The video shows them pushing him to the ground and beating him up. “Violence of any sort is deplorable and should result in criminal action,” Raju had said on Tuesday, after asking the Directorate General of Civil Aviation for a report on the incident.
Meanwhile, IndiGo President Aditya Ghosh said he called up the passenger and apologised, The Indian Express reported. “This does not reflect our culture,” he said.
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