Airhostess lied, she was not molested: NCW

The National Commission for Women (NCW) has given a clean chit to two Air India (AI) pilots who were charged with molestation and sexual harassment by airhostess Komal Singh.

The airhostess was neither molested nor was there any sexual harassment, the NCW said. She was pushed out of the cockpit along with flight purser Amit Khanna during a mid-air scuffle between pilots and the crew, it added.

Komal had alleged that she was molested by captain Ranbir Arora and co-pilot Aditya Chopra of flight IC-884 on a Sharjah-New Delhi trip on October 3.

“No one has an exact idea of what happened in the cockpit. But it is for sure the airhostess lied and there is no sexual harassment angle in the story,’’ said NCW member Wansuk Syiem.

Eyewitnesses have testified that Komal, along with the flight purser, was pushed out of the cockpit due to which she sustained an abrasion on her right arm, she said. “We were told that this had to be done for the safety of the flight and passengers,” she added. The NCW, however, told AI to withdraw the chargesheet filed against Komal. The AI inquiry committee had chargesheeted Komal for violating conduct rules, not complying with company policy and speaking to the media, insubordination and disobeying seniors. AI had suspended Khanna and Chopra while Komal and Arora were taken off duty.