A co-passenger on the Air India New York-Delhi flight where an inebriated passenger urinated on an elderly woman, told NDTV today there was "fault at multiple levels" in the handling of the incident. Most of it, he said, was poor judgement by the pilot. Dr Sugata Bhattacharjee also told NDTV that he had initially alerted the cabin crew about the passenger, who seemed unable to handle his drink.
"We were served lunch about an hour after take-off and he had downed four drinks in 40 minutes," said Dr Bhattacharjee, a US-based doctor of audiology who was seated next to the offender, Shankar Mishra, in the business class.
During lunch, "he asked me questions like you have kid and what do they do, repeatedly. I figured he can't hold up due to alcohol. I flagged it to the staff - the staff just smiled," Dr Bhattacharjee told NDTV in an exclusive interview. The man was served at least one more drink after that.
Dr Bhattacharjee said he had filed a complaint about the matter the same day, November 26. "My two-page complaint -- it was just tossed off... No one would have known about this if media didn't take it up... My complaint was not about drunk passenger. It was on poor judgement by the pilot over the incident," he said.
Dr Bhattacharjee said he did not witness the man urinating on the elderly woman passenger and woke only when Mishra returned to his seat.
The woman, who was completely drenched in urine, was given pajamas and was left standing at the galley for around 20 minutes. After that, the cabin crew made her sit on the same seat, after piling some blankets on it. "I advocated that they give her another seat. I said 'aapka char seat khali hai (Your four seats are empty)'. And they won't budge," Dr Bhattacharjee said.
"The staff said it was the pilot's decision," Dr Bhattacharjee said. That decision came two hours later and she was given a fresh seat.
The crew also left the two passengers to settle the matter, which should not have happened, Dr Bhattacharjee said. Asked if the woman was coerced into having an "understanding" with Shankar Mishra, he said "Yes".
"I did not like the fact that they made them sit across each other... you don't bring the aggressor and the victim face to face... The crew and captain can't mediate in such issue. It is a crime and their job is to complain about crime," he said.
Asked about the perpetrator's reaction when he woke -- whether he was scared or apologetic -- Dr Bhattarcharjee said when he woke, Shankar Mishra had sobered up. "He said 'Bro I think I'm in trouble'. I said, 'Yes, you are'."
Shankar Mishra had walked away after the "settlement". On November 27, the woman wrote to the Air India group chairman about the appalling incident. Air India filed a police complaint only on January 4, claiming it didn't go to the police as it felt both sides had "settled the matter".
Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran today admitted that Air India's response should have been swifter. "We fell short of addressing this situation the way it should have been," Mr Chandrasekaran said in a statement.
Shankar Mishra was arrested by the Delhi Police on Friday, six weeks after the incident, and placed in judicial custody for a fortnight.
Air India CEO Campbell Wilson has apologised and said four cabin crew and a pilot have been de-rostered and the airline is reviewing its "policy on service of alcohol in flight".
