Air India bans Shankar Mishra, accused in pee-gate incident, for 4 months

Shankar Mishra was banned for just 30 days after the news broke earlier this month but the order has now been extended by a further four months.

Air India on January 19 banned accused Shankar Mishra for four months in connection with the pee-gate incident on an international flight, airline officials said.

Mishra had earlier been banned for 30 days after news of the incident, in which he allegedly urinated on a woman passenger, broke earlier this month. The order has now been extended by a further four months.

Other airlines are also expected to ban him from flying once the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) comes out with a ruling on the matter, sources said.

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The airline has also filed an internal report on the matter with the DGCA.
Mishra allegedly urinated on another passenger while in a drunken state on an Air India New York-New Delhi flight on November 26 last year.
Delhi police registered a First Information Report (FIR) against him on January 4 on the complaint of the woman.

Commenting on the development, an Air India spokesperson said,“The independent three-member Internal Committee under the Chairmanship of the former District Judge has concluded that Shankar Mishra is covered under the definition of “unruly passenger” and is banned from flying for a period of 4 months as per the relevant provisions of the Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR).

"The passenger has already been put on the airline’s “No Fly List”. Air India has shared a copy of the Internal Committee report with the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and will also be intimating other airlines operating in the country," the spokesperson added.

Meanwhile, the case between Mishra and a 72-year-old woman flying business class on Air India is pending in Delhi’s Patiala House Court.

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In court, Mishra claimed that he did not relieve himself on his fellow passenger and that the female passenger urinated on herself on the New York-Delhi flight on November 26.

“I’m not the accused. There must be someone else. It seems she herself urinated. She was suffering from some disease related to prostate which several ‘kathak dancers’ seem to suffer from. It was not me. The seating system was such that no one could go to her seat. Her seat could only be approached from behind, and in any case the urine could not reach to seat’s front area. Also, the passenger sitting behind the complainant did not make any such complaint,” the defence lawyer told the judge.

The alleged victim denied the allegation, saying it was “completely false and concocted.”

The case took another surprising turn as the flight crew submitted a four-page report suggesting that the 72-year-old passenger, the alleged victim, may have been instigated by a co-passenger. The report stated that the woman’s subsequent behaviour cast doubt about her “intent and integrity”.

According to the crew report accessed by Moneycontrol, a co-passenger, S Bhattacharjee, “potentially instigated" the complainant. He was seated on 8A, in front of the complainant (on 9A), and next to Mishra, (8C).Moneycontrol has reported that Bhattacharjee requested an upgrade to first class on boarding, but was turned down. In addition, the report mentioned that a statement by the passenger on 9C, right next to the complainant, ran contrary to the statement made by the complainant.