Man accused of creating ruckus in IndiGo flight granted bail

A man arrested for allegedly creating a ruckus on board an IndiGo flight from Mumbai to Delhi was on Friday granted bail by a court here for being "mentally unstable."

Metropolitan magistrate Pankaj Sharma released Mursalin Sheikh on bail on furnishing a personal bond of Rs25,000 with one surety of the like amount.

The court enlarged Shaikh on bail, taking note of medical documents, which indicated the accused was mentally unstable. "Considering the medical report that the accused was mentally unstable, I am inclined to grant bail to applicant (Shaikh)," the court said.

The court had sent Shaikh to Tihar jail on Thursday for a day after reserving its order on his bail plea. Shaikh's counsel Rajat Sharma had submitted that his client deserved the relief as he was mentally unstable as per the medical records provided by the family.

Shaikh, 27, who hails from Mumbai, had boarded the IndiGo flight (6E196) on Wednesday from Mumbai and had allegedly turned violent midair, attacking the crew and threatening to take the plane down.

Shaikh had refused to listen to the air hostesses and had even tried to storm the cockpit, the police said. A case of assault, outraging the modesty of a woman and criminal intimidation has been registered against him.

During the hearing, the counsel for Shaikh had said he was not a "flight risk" and is a permanent native of Mumbai. Shaikh, who deals in second-hand cars, has been booked for offences which allows bail, the lawyer had said.