AI pilot assault: Police aware of matter but yet to receive a complaint; vows action | India News

NEW DELHI: After being allegedly assaulted by an Air India Express pilot at Delhi Airport, Ankit Dewan is yet to file a police complaint, Delhi Police said on Saturday.Delhi Police said the matter came to its knowledge through a social media post, but neither Ankit Dewan nor the airline has reported the incident at any police station.“With reference to a social media post on platform X by Ankit Dewan, alleging physical assault by an Air India Express pilot at Terminal 1 of the airport, no such matter has been reported to the police station either by Ankit Dewan or by the airline,” Delhi Police said in a statement.“The matter has come to the knowledge of the police through the social media post. Whenever a written complaint is received from the victim, appropriate legal action will be taken,” it added.This comes a day after an off-duty pilot from Air India Express allegedly assaulted a passenger in front of his family at Delhi airport’s Terminal 1 over the latter being allowed to use a security-check lane where aircraft crew and other staff reportedly get priority.Passenger Ankit Dewan accused Captain Virender Sejwal, who was travelling to Bengaluru by IndiGo to join duty, of leaving him with a bloodied face after he called him out for allegedly “cutting the queue”. Dewan said the pilot retorted that the lane was meant for staff and asked him if he was “anpadh” (illiterate), triggering what initially began as a verbal altercation.Dewan, who describes himself as a “credit card & miles enthusiast” on X, said he was set to board a SpiceJet flight with his wife, daughter and infant when the scuffle took place.The passenger said airport staff guided him and his family to the security-check lane “because we had a four-month-old baby in a stroller”. He wrote that he had to “see a doctor” upon reaching his destination and that his “seven-year-old daughter, who saw her father get assaulted brutally, is still traumatised and scared”.“I have no clue how the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and Air India Express can allow such pilots to fly. If they can’t keep their cool in a scuffle, can they be trusted with the lives of hundreds of people in the sky? How can Delhi airport get away with such mismanagement—combining staff entry with passengers carrying infants—creating chaos at a sensitive security area? I thought airports were safe places,” he said.Meanwhile, the airline has grounded the senior pilot, who was rostered for duty on Friday.An Air India Express spokesperson said the airline “remains committed to ensuring that its employees act responsibly at all times”.“We are aware of an incident involving one of our employees, who was travelling as a passenger on another airline. We unequivocally condemn such behaviour. Appropriate disciplinary action will be initiated based on the findings of the inquiry,” the spokesperson said.