Man gropes sleeping passenger on flight from Mumbai to Guwahati; held upon arrival

A man who was aboard an IndiGo flight from Mumbai to Guwahati was handed over to Guwahati police after a fellow passenger lodged a complaint of alleging that he groped her when she was asleep on flight and the lights were dimmed.

Thed incident was reported by the airline on Sunday.

According to the woman who made the accusation, the man in question raised the armrest and touched her inappropriately while the cabin lights were dimmed during the late-night flight.

Following this unsettling incident, the airline promptly informed that they had filed a First Information Report (FIR) against the man and handed him over to the Guwahati police.

The flight, IndiGo flight 6E-5319, took off from Mumbai at approximately 9 pm and arrived at its destination just 15 minutes past midnight. This marks the fifth reported case of sexual harassment involving passengers on flights within the past two months.

The woman recounted her experience to the Times of India, explaining that she was seated in an aisle seat and had fallen asleep once the cabin lights were dimmed. Initially, she had lowered the armrest but was surprised to wake up and find it raised, with her male co-passenger leaning close to her.

She remarked, “I found it strange because I distinctly remember lowering the armrest. Half-asleep, I didn’t dwell on it too much, put the armrest down again, and went back to sleep.” After some time, upon waking up, she discovered the male passenger’s hands on her.

However, since he appeared to be asleep, she decided not to jump to conclusions. Consequently, she decided to wait, keeping her eyes half-closed and pretending to be asleep.

A few minutes later, when the co-passenger began groping her and behaving inappropriately, the woman felt the need to scream but was unable to do so as she felt “frozen.” She mustered the courage to act when the man attempted to grope her again. She pulled his hand away and let out a scream.

Subsequently, she turned on the seat lights and summoned the cabin crew. While recounting the incident, she mentioned, “He started apologising for his actions, while I was shouting, crying, and narrating the incident.”

IndiGo issued a statement confirming that the male passenger had been handed over to the Guwahati police upon the flight’s arrival due to the sexual harassment complaint filed by the female passenger. The airline also offered their support and revealed that they had lodged an FIR against the accused with the local police.