NEW DELHI: A man travelling by a Spice Jet flight from Delhi to Mumbai was found clicking pictures of the crew members at the time of take-off following which the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) issued a notice to the Delhi Police and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) seeking an action taken report in the matter.
A Spice Jet official confirmed to this newspaper that the incident took place in a SpiceJet flight SG157 that was operating from Delhi to Mumbai on August 2.
“A passenger seated in the first row was found clicking pictures of the cabin crew, while she was seated on the jump seat at the time of take-off. The passenger was confronted by the crew members. He deleted the pictures from his phone and apologised for his action. The passenger also gave a written apology,” the official said.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (IGI-Airport) Devesh Kumar Mahla said that they have not received any complaint from Spice Jet in the matter. However, the DCW chairperson Swati Maliwal, after taking suo-motu cognisance of a video being circulated on social media platform Instagram regarding alleged sexual harassment by a passenger onboard the flight, issued notices to Delhi Police and DGCA.
“Complaints of sexual harassment on flights are on the rise. This is unacceptable. In this particular case, an FIR should be registered and the matter should be thoroughly investigated and the guilty must be punished,” Maliwal said. She said that DGCA must have a zero-tolerance policy against sexual harassment on flights and take stringent action to prevent such incidents in the future.
It is alleged in the viral video that a passenger was trying to click obscene pictures of a woman flight attendant and his woman co-passenger. It has been stated that when his mobile phone was checked,
objectionable pictures of the women onboard the plane were found in his mobile.
The DCW sought the details of FIR along with the arrest made in the matter by Delhi Police. Also, the Commission asked the DGCA whether the matter has been forwarded to Internal Complaint Committee under the Sexual Harassment at Workplace, or any other committee.