Wells Fargo sacks India VP Shankar Mishra for urinating on Air India co-passenger

American financial services company Wells Fargo sacked Shankar Mishra, India Vice-President of its entity in India on January 6, after he urinated in an inebriated state on a woman in her 70s, in business class of an Air India flight from New York to New Delhi.

“This individual has been terminated from Wells Fargo. We are cooperating with law enforcement and ask that any additional inquiries be directed to them,” the company said in a statement released on January 6.

The company also said it holds its employees to the highest standards of professional and personal behaviour and that it found these allegations deeply disturbing.

After news of Mishra urinating on a woman co-passenger on board an Air India flight on November 26, 2022, was reported, the Delhi Police on January 5 wrote to the concerned authorities seeking a Look Out Circular (LOC) against Shankar Mishra.

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"Mishra is a resident of Mumbai. We had sent our teams to Mumbai at his known locations, but he was absconding. Our teams are trying to trace him," a senior police official said.

A case was also registered against Mishra under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 294 (obscene act in public place), 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman), and 510 (misconduct in public by a drunken person), as well as under Aircraft Rules.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) also issued show-cause notices to Air India officials and cabin crew of the New York-Delhi flight, asking why action should not be taken against them for "dereliction" of duty while handling the November 26 'urination' incident.

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The aviation regulator said Air India's conduct appeared to be "unprofessional", and that prima facie, it seemed that provisions related to the handling of unruly passengers were not complied with.