Days after passenger accuses Air India Express pilot of assault at Delhi airport, police file FIR

Police said an FIR has been registered under sections 115 (voluntarily causing hurt), 126 (wrongful restraint), and 351 (threatening someone) of the BNS based on Ankit Dewan’s complaint.

“A complaint was received today through email from Ankit Dewan. FIR is being registered in the matter under appropriate sections of law and the investigation will be taken up,” Additional CP (IGI) Vichitra Veer said.

The incident took place on Friday when an Air India Express pilot allegedly physically assaulted and injured Dewan at Terminal 1 during an altercation over the use of a staff security check area by Dewan and his family. On Saturday, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) had ordered a formal investigation into the incident. The pilot was removed from official duties by the Tata group airline.

On Sunday, the pilot, Virender Sejwal, claimed the incident had been “misrepresented” on social media, “unfairly projecting it as a ‘pilot vs passenger’ dispute”. The altercation was a “purely personal matter between two passengers” and had “no connection whatsoever” with his professional responsibilities, the pilot underlined in a statement issued by his lawyer on his behalf.

In an official statement, his lawyer also claimed that “casteist remarks were made against Capt Sejwal, and absolutely unfathomable threats were made to female members of his family including a child.”

Describing the ordeal he and his family went through, Dewan had posted on X that during the security check for his SpiceJet flight, he and his family, including his four-month-old baby, were guided to use the security check meant for staff and persons with reduced mobility.

According to him, he had a verbal altercation with Sejwal, who was among airline staff members cutting the queue, after which the pilot assaulted him. At the time of the incident, Sejwal was not on official duty and was travelling as a passenger with IndiGo to Bengaluru.

In his statement, Sejwal alleged that Dewan verbally abused him without provocation and continued using “abusive, degrading and threatening language” even after being asked to stop.