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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RG Kar crime anniversary: One held for 'assaulting' police constable during protest
Kolkata (PTI): Sleuths of the Kolkata Police on Wednesday arrested a person from here for allegedly being involved in assaulting the guard of an IPS officer during 'Nabanna Abhiyan', a march to the West Bengal secretariat, last week, an officer said.
The person, identified as Chandan Gupta, a resident of Jagatdal in North 24 Parganas district, was arrested from Bow Bazar area in central Kolkata this morning, he said.
"The person has been booked under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for attempting to kill constable Prasanta Poddar, who is a guard of DC SSD Bidisha Kalita Dasgupta. He is being questioned," the officer said.
Chaos and violent agitation dominated the streets of Kolkata and adjacent Howrah on August 9, a day that marked the completion of one year of the rape and murder of the doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
"The search for other accused is underway," he said.
Seven FIRs were filed against several individuals, including BJP MLAs Ashok Dinda, Agnimitra Paul and other leaders, for allegedly obstructing security personnel from performing their duties, assaulting them and causing damage to public properties during the march to the West Bengal secretariat on August 9.
Incidentally, the father of the deceased doctor of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital filed an FIR, accusing the police of torturing his wife during the protest.
