NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police on Tuesday said it has begun collecting CCTV footage and other material evidence in connection with the alleged assault of a passenger by an off-duty Air India Express pilot at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here.
Police said footage from multiple cameras installed in and around the security area of Terminal 1 is being examined to reconstruct the sequence of events.
Statements of witnesses present at the spot will also be part of the investigation, a senior police officer said.
"The investigation is at a preliminary stage. CCTV footage from the terminal is being collected and scrutinised. Other relevant evidence will also be gathered," the officer said, adding that the accused will be called for questioning in due course of the probe.
An FIR has been registered under sections 115 (voluntarily causing hurt), 126 (wrongful restraint) and 351 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) after police received a complaint from the victim, Ankit Dewan, via e-mail on Monday.
Police said the matter is being examined based on the complaint and available evidence. Further legal action will be taken as the investigation progresses.
The case pertains to an alleged incident on December 19 near the security checkpoint of Terminal 1, where Dewan claimed he was physically assaulted by Air India Express captain Virender Sejwal, who was off-duty at the time and travelling as a passenger.
Dewan alleged that an altercation began after he objected to some staff members jumping the queue at the security checkpoint.
He claimed that the pilot abused him verbally and then assaulted him, causing him to bleed in full public view and traumatising his seven-year-old daughter who witnessed the incident.
On Sunday, the accused pilot denied the allegations and claimed he was subjected to verbal abuse, casteist remarks and threats against his family.
According to the pilot's statement via a law firm, Dewan initiated the confrontation by verbally abusing Captain Sejwal without provocation and continued using abusive, degrading and threatening language despite being asked to stop.
“The situation escalated into a physical altercation in which Capt Sejwal was also hurt. He also sustained injuries during the scuffle. CISF personnel intervened promptly, repeatedly told Mr. Dewan to calm down and stop abusing, yet he refused to relent and continued his misconduct in their presence,” the statement said.
Air India Express, on Monday, issued a show cause notice to the pilot and the victim had filed a complaint with the police on the same day.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (IGI Airport) Vichitra Veer said, “A complaint was received on Monday through email from Ankit Dewan. FIR is being registered in the matter under appropriate sections of law and the investigation will be taken up.”
A source at Air India Express said, “We have issued a Show Cause notice to the Flight Commander Sejwal, giving him a time period of 48 hours to respond.”
He stressed, “The notice is in connection with the misconduct only. Our pilot was not on duty that time and was on his way from Delhi to Bengaluru to operate a flight from there when he allegedly assaulted a Spicejet passenger.”
Further investigation into the matter is underway.