Man on Mumbai-bound Vistara flight flashes cabin crew, arrested

A Vistara passenger was arrested for flashing a flight attendant (File photo)

A 30-year-old Bangladeshi man was arrested for allegedly flashing the cabin crew and appearing to masturbate on a Mumbai-bound flight on Thursday. According to a Times of India report, the accused, Mohammad Dulal, was handed over to police and appeared in court on Thursday.

The incident took place 30 minutes before the Vistara flight’s scheduled landing in Mumbai at 4.25 am on Thursday. Dulal reportedly harassed a flight attendant, exposed himself in front of a flight supervisor and appeared to masturbate. All of this happened when the flight was nearly full and other passengers intervened on the crew’s behalf.

The 30-year-old Bangladeshi national was travelling from Muscat to Mumbai, from where he was supposed to board a connecting flight to Dhaka. Instead, he was handed over to Sahar Police.

Dulal appeared before the Andheri Court on Thursday. His lawyer argued that he suffers from a mental disorder and does not follow English or Hindi. He has been remanded in police custody for three days, according to the Hindustan Times. The Bangladesh consulate has also been informed of the incident.

“Dulal was arrested based on the complaint from the 22-year-old flight attendant for hugging her and trying to kiss her onboard. He even flashed at a flight supervisor and at other passengers when they intervened,” a Sahar police station officer was quoted as saying by Times of India. “He did not listen to the captain who read out the Red Warning Card and declared him an unruly passenger for not obeying warnings,” the police officer added.

In her complaint, the 22-year-old flight attendant said she was collecting food trays from passengers when Dulal suddenly jumped from his seat and hugged her. “I was left in shock when suddenly he hugged him and tried to kiss me,” she said.

The flight attendant called out to a male colleague, Mohammed Elham, for help. Elham, with the help of other passengers, was able to overpower Dulal. However, the accused kept hurling abuses when asked to be seated. “He became abusive when the flight attendants asked him to return to his seat. Before fellow passengers could understand what was happening, the accused unzipped and flashed at the flight attendant,” an officer said.

The matter was brought to the attention of the captain who flashed the Red Warning Card but Dulal continued to act out.