Actor ‘molestation’: Two-day police remand for accused Vistara passenger in POCSO Act case

The incident took place on board a Delhi-Mumbai Air Vistara flight on Saturday night. The police said the actor was travelling to Mumbai with her mother and seated in the business class section.

Sachdeva, the police said, got himself a business class window seat right behind the actor after upgrading his economy class seat. According to the police, Sachdeva placed one foot on the armrest of the girl’s seat and repeatedly touched her back and neck. An official at the Sahar police station said the actor, who was asleep, woke up due to the contact and shifted in her seat, away from the man’s foot.

“But the accused continued to touch her inappropriately even then. After this went on for 5-10 minutes, the actress asked the man to sit properly,” said the officer. The actress also took a picture of Sachdeva’s foot using her phone and claimed that she could not take a picture of his face because the cabin lights were dim inside the aircraft.

The police have recorded statements of a fellow passenger who was witness to the chaos in the flight that followed when the actor alerted her mother and complained to flight stewards.

“The accused apologised to the girl at the time and in the confusion in the aircraft after it landed in Mumbai she left with her mother,” added the official. On Sunday, she posted a ‘story’ on social media detailing Sachdeva’s alleged unwarranted contact. On Monday afternoon, Sachdeva was produced in a special POCSO Act court at the sessions court in Dindoshi. The public prosecutor argued that Sachdeva had touched the girl on her back and neck with the intention of sexually assaulting her. Sachdeva’s lawyer, advocate H S Anand, claimed that his client was exhausted and asleep in the flight and did not know who was sitting ahead of him. “He had gone to Delhi for the funeral of his maternal uncle and was returning home in the night flight. He was in mental and physical agony and asked the air hostess not to disturb him for food and water. In his sleep, he did not know where his leg went,” he argued.

The advocate also told the court the actor had falsely implicated Sachdeva to gain publicity and there was no intention of sexual assault. Additional Sessions Judge A S Deo remanded Sachdeva in police custody till December 13. Sachdeva’s wife, Divya Sachdeva, said he was innocent. “He is a family man and was returning mentally and physically exhausted after attending a condolence meet. His foot may have landed on the armrest when he was asleep but there was no sexual assault,” she said.