Not fit to fly, go stitch slippers: Dalit IndiGo trainee pilot alleges harassment by seniors
Gurugram: A Dalit trainee pilot with IndiGo Airlines has accused three senior officials of caste-based harassment, alleging that he was told he was "not fit to fly a plane" and should "go back and stitch shoes."
An FIR was registered against three IndiGo officials Tapas Dey, Manish Sahni and Captain Rahul Patil under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Initially filed as a zero FIR in Bengaluru, the case was later transferred to the DLF Phase-1 police station in Gurugram.
The 35-year-old trainee pilot alleged that the harassment began immediately after he arrived in office when Dey demanded he leave his phone and bag outside in a "demeaning manner". It reportedly escalated to overtly casteist remarks during a formal meeting at IndiGo’s Gurugram office on April 28.
He alleged that during the 30-minute meeting, he was told, "You are not fit to fly an aircraft, go back and stitch slippers. You are not even worthy of being a watchman here."
In addition to verbal abuse, the complainant cited several instances of what he termed "professional victimisation" — including unjustified salary cuts, forced retraining sessions and unwarranted warning letters.
"The statements they made were not only humiliating but clearly aimed at degrading my identity and status as a Scheduled Caste person," the complaint read.
Despite raising the issue internally with senior management and IndiGo’s ethics panel, the pilot said no remedial action was taken, leaving him with no choice but to approach the police.
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HC grants conditional permission for RSS guard of honour in Chittapur on November 16
Kalaburagi: The Kalaburagi Bench of the Karnataka High Court has granted the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) permission to hold a guard of honour in Chittapur on Sunday, November 16, under certain conditions.
The Chittapur tahsildar had refused permission for an RSS guard of honour on October 19, citing law and order issues. The order was challenged in court by petitioner Ashok Patil.
Justice MGS Kamal, who heard the case on Thursday, granted conditional permission for the RSS event, with 300 members and a band strength of 50 persons.
