BENGALURU: A woman flyer has filed a case against a 52-year-old UK resident on charges of sexually harassing her on board a Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt to Bengaluru. He was taken into custody on November 7 morning as soon as the flight reached Terminal 2 of Kempegowda International Airport.
The incident allegedly took place mid-air on Monday night on board LH-0754 after it took off from Frankfurt, said a source. The 32-year-old woman is a native of Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh. The abuser, Shankaranarayan Ranganathan, has been booked on charges of sexual harassment.
“Four hours after the flight had taken off from the Frankfurt Am Main Airport, the woman had dozed off. She woke up when the man seated next to her placed his hand on her thigh. The incident occurred sometime between 11.45 pm and midnight IST. The woman warned him and asked him to remove his hand. Sometime later, he repeated the act. After that, the woman alerted a cabin crew member and changed her seat,” read the FIR.
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) was alerted about the incident before the flight reached KIA at 2 AM on Tuesday. “As soon as the flight reached the airport, CISF personnel took Ranganathan into custody and handed him over to the airport police,” said a security official.
He was taken to the KIA police station and a case was filed under Section 354A of IPC. The section states, “Any man who engages in unwelcome and explicit sexual behavior, demands sexual favors, shows pornography against a woman’s will, or makes sexually colored remarks can be punished with imprisonment or fine.” Lufthansa could not be reached for their response.
284g of gold, 3K cigarettes seized from flyer
Airport Customs in Bengaluru have foiled an attempt made by a flyer from Sharjah to the city to smuggle 284 grams of gold in paste form in the zip line of the pair of jeans he was wearing. Officials intercepted him on Monday (November 6). They also recovered 3,300 cigarette sticks and 324 packets of cosmetics from his baggage. The total value of the items recovered from him is worth Rs 18.57 lakh, revealed a statement from the Customs department.