HYDERABAD: An Italian DJ has claimed that she was assaulted by the ground staff of Air India at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport on Sunday. The DJ, Olly Esse, was in the city for a charity gig at the Heart Cup Cafe on Saturday night, and the incident reportedly happened at the ticket counter of Air India, where she was waiting for a new boarding pass as her Mumbai bound flight was delayed by over 10 hours.
“All the passengers were enraged because the flight got delayed and demanded access to the lounge. Eventually, we were sent off to the ticket counter to get a new boarding pass. Here, an argument broke out between passengers and the staff,” says Olly. “At around 1 pm, when I went to collect my new boarding pass, I enquired with the staff on the revised timing of the flight.”
“When I enquired further she got irritated and hit my arm. My phone flung out of my arms. I was also pushed,” alleged Olly, adding the entire experience was very humiliating.
She claims she escalated the matter to higher-ups with the help of her fellow passengers but got no response. “It was like a street show with people gaping. When I went to police, they said the inspector was not there so a complaint cannot be filed,” says Olly.
No assault as such: AI
Air India, meanwhile, maintained that there was no assault as such. “The foreign lady went to enquiry counter to check about the flight and was told to move to another counter. The mobile accidentally slipped out of her hand when the staff girl lifted her hand,” said an official spokesperson of AI
The Italian national, who is on her second visit to the city, went on to vent her grievance on Twitter. “I have no idea and no words for how I was treated by you today. I hope no tourist or people will come to visit Hyderabad since they can be beaten up and Police will not even care,” she rued. “We are verifying the details. When Olly enquired, the staff did not give complete details. That is when she took out her phone to take down details of the Air India staff. We are looking into the footage of the area to verify facts,” said Airport police inspector M Mahesh.
Meanwhile, Air India maintained that there was no assault as such. “The foreign lady went to the enquiry counter to check about the flight and she was told to move to another counter as they would be able to resolve it better. Meanwhile, as the old man questioned as to how they can treat a foreigner like that, that’s when the foreigner lady took out her phone to take a video.
When the female staff objected to it, she still continued and the CISF staff intervened. Despite that when she did not stop, the staff girl raised her hand and the mobile accidentally slipped out of her hand. It is this incident that she has converted into an assault,” said an official spokesperson of Air India. Meanwhile, a staff member was an outsourced employee of AISATS wing of Air India.