On December 10, a young Bollywood actress talked about how she was molested while flying from Delhi to Mumbai in an Air Vistara flight UK 981. In an Instagram live chat, the 17-year-old actress alleged that a fellow passenger continually rubbed his feet against her neck and back while she was half-asleep. She even raised an alarm at the moment, but apparently, the staff wasn’t of much help.
The accused, who has been identified as a 39-year-old Mumbai businessman named Vikash Sachdev, was arrested by the Mumbai police later on Sunday. He was booked under Section 354 (Assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and relevant sections of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO). However, what people find outrageous is that the airline staff was allegedly incompetent to assist her with the matter.
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In an official statement, the airline apologised to the actress and assured that the airline will assist in any further investigation. The airline added that they are also reaching out to fellow passengers who were on board to get into the depth of the matter. The airline also defended its staff saying that the incident came to light during the flight’s final descent and hence, the staff was seated securely.
However, there’s not a whole lot that the actress can do to accuse the airline of negligence, legal experts report. While she does have the right to go a Consumer Court to seek redressal of her grievances, the airline cannot be penalised until further investigation reveals new details. Vistara has submitted their initial report to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
Earlier on Sunday, the teen actress had alleged that the passenger seated behind her kept brushing her neck and back with his feet. “He kept nudging my shoulder and continued to move his foot up and down my back and neck,” she stated. During an Instagram live, the actor broke down saying, “I just landed, the whole irony of this that I yelled… and this is not done… this is not how you should be treated or made to feel… this is terrible. This is how they will take care of girls? No one will help us if we don’t decide to help ourselves and that is the worst thing.”
A video that the actress had shared after the flight landed, was dismissed as “fake drama” and a “publicity stunt” by some people.
While the accused has been arrested, he and his wife continue to deny the allegations. As per Sachdev, he had apologised for his “unintentional” actions. His wife supported his claims saying, “We respect women. She is making an allegation for publicity to get the limelight.” She told CNN-News18, “For her limelight, we are in a thick soup. Last night, we were running around because of this.”
