Sahar police in Mumbai arrested a Swedish national Thursday for allegedly molesting a female airline staff onboard a Bangkok-Mumbai flight. The police identified the accused as Klas Erik Harald Jonas Westberg, 63.
An officer said Westberg was inebriated while he was on the flight. “While onboard, the accused initially created a scene after he was told that they were not serving any seafood,” he said. He was then given a chicken-based meal following which the female cabin crew asked him to pay for it.
“On the pretext of entering the PIN of his ATM card, the accused held her hand. After that he got up from his seat and molested her,” the officer said, adding, “He even manhandled a passenger who tried to come to the airline staffer’s rescue.” The 24-year-old staffer then raised an alarm.
The accused was handed over to Sahar police after the flight landed at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport. “A case was registered on the complaint of the staffer after which the accused was placed under arrest,” said a police officer.
According to officials, the accused was booked under sections of assault and outraging the modesty of a woman under the Indian Penal Code and under relevant sections of Aircraft Rules, 1937. A four-page chargesheet was subsequently filed at the Andheri court on Friday after which he was released on a bail bond of Rs 20,000.