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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Ruturaj scores unbeaten 67 as CSK beat MI by eight wickets
Chennai (PTI): Ruturaj Gaikwad struck his second successive half-century of the season as Chennai Super Kings cruised to a commanding eight-wicket win over Mumbai Indians in an Indian Premier League match here on Saturday.
Gaikwad remained unbeaten on 67 off 48 balls, stitching an unbroken 98-run stand for the third wicket with Kartik Sharma (54 not out) to comfortably chase down the target of 160 after Mumbai were stopped at 159 for seven.
Mumbai Indians' struggles continued as they only have two wins in nine matches, remaining on four points, while CSK climbed to eight points from nine games.
Earlier, MI's innings never quite gained momentum, with Naman Dhir the lone bright spot with a 57. He walked in after Will Jacks fell for one in the second over and added 40 runs for the third wicket with Suryakumar Yadav (21).
For CSK, left-arm spinner Noor Ahmad (2/26) was the pick of the bowlers, removing Ryan Rickelton (37) and Tilak Varma (5), while Anshul Kamboj (3/32) impressed with an effective spell.
Brief scores:
Mumbai Indians 159 for 7 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 37, Naman Dhir 57; Noor Ahmed 2/26, Anshul Kamboj 3/32).
Chennai Super Kings: 160 for 2 in 18.1 overs (Ruturaj Gaikwad 67 not out, Urvil Patel 24, Kartik Sharma 54 not out; Jasprit Bumrah 1/20).
