Mumbai (PTI): Airport services management firm Air India SATS Services (AISATS) has dismissed four senior executives for hosting a party at its office, days after a video clip of the gathering in the backdrop of the fatal Air India plane crash elicited criticism from various quarters.

AISATS is a joint venture between Tata Group-owned Air India and Singapore's SATS Ltd, a global provider of gateway and food solutions.

In a statement on Friday, AISATS said it has taken "firm disciplinary action" against the people responsible for the party but did not disclose specific details.

A source said the company has terminated the services of four senior executives for their direct role in hosting the party.

"At AISATS, we stand in solidarity with the families affected by the tragic loss of AI 171 and deeply regret the lapse in judgment reflected in a recent internal video. The behaviour does not align with our values, and firm disciplinary action has been taken against those responsible as we reaffirm our commitment to empathy, professionalism, and accountability," the company said in the statement.

The company did not mention the date when the party took place.

The video clip of many AISATS employees dancing in the office went viral recently and many social media users criticised it.

In the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad on June 12, 270 people, including 241 people onboard the aircraft, died. One passenger survived. The Boeing 787-8 aircraft enroute to London Gatwick crashed into a medical hostel complex soon after take-off.

 

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Mumbai (PTI): The Food and Drug Administration team probing the cause of death of four members of a family in south Mumbai's JJ Marg area have not been able to zero in on any watermelon vendor in the vicinity to check if the fruit had a role to play in the ill-fated incident, an official said on Thursday.

The Dokadia family, residents of Ghari Mohalla on Ismail Kurte Road, had hosted a get-together of relatives on the night of April 25. At around 1 am, hours after the guests had left, Abdullah Dokadia (40), his wife Nasreen (35), and daughters Ayesha (16) and Zaineb (13) ate pieces of a watermelon.

They suffered severe bouts of vomiting and diarrhoea in the early hours of April 26 and were rushed to a local hospital before being referred to the government-run J J Hospital where all four died during treatment.

"The FDA team visited the house of Dokadia and collected samples of chicken pulao and watermelon pieces. After two days, the leftover chicken pulao had developed fungus growth. The team also tried to locate watermelon vendors to check for any affected lots," he said.

But no vendors were found in the area for the past two days, preventing the FDA team from getting samples, the official added.

The FDA has requested the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) to share the report on the food samples collected by them, he added.

A senior Mumbai police official said the force is waiting for FSL reports in the case, adding that questions on presence of sedatives etc in the fruit could be answered only then.

The statements of the kin of the deceased are being recorded to ascertain if it is a case of mass suicide, and it is being checked if the Dokadia family were in debt or distressed over some issue, the police official said.