He punched me, I fell down: SpiceJet staffer recalls assault by Army officer
"He had two bags. I stopped him for checking. As soon as I asked him to the side, he started shouting...I told him that his hand baggage weighed 16 kg and he is carrying two bags, while just one, weighing 7 kg, is allowed. I told him that he would have to pay for extra baggage. He started shouting again...I called up my Duty Manager and asked him to come. The Manager too explained to him. He (passenger) pushed CISF staff and entered the boarding gate, which is not allowed. CISF staff brought him back. He was again told to pay up," Mudasir recalled."At the boarding gate, he pulled out a few things from his bag and threw it at a member of the staff who was in front of him...He hit me on my face with the rest of the baggage. He slapped me and started hitting me. He used his fist and feet to hit me...At the end, he punched me and I fell down.." he further said.The case came to light following a viral video in which the officer was seen assaulting the staff with a steel signboard stand. SpiceJet, confirming the incident on Sunday, said that its staff members suffered severe injuries, including a spinal fracture and a serious jaw injury, in what it described as a "murderous assault".According to the airline, during the check-in for a Delhi-bound flight. The passenger, Lieutenant Colonel Ritesh Kumar Singh, was carrying two cabin bags weighing a total of 16 kg, more than twice the airline's permitted limit of 7 kg. When the ground staff informed the officer of the excess baggage and requested payment for the applicable charges, he refused to pay the amount and turned violent.- EndsMust Watch
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The Wire
an hour ago
- The Wire
‘Kashmiris Treated as Third-Class Citizens': Family of SpiceJet Staff After Brutal Assault at Srinagar Airport
Communalism Tarushi Aswani An FIR was filed, SpiceJet has written to the Ministry of Civil Aviation seeking action over the 'murderous assault', and the Army has taken cognisance of the incident. Meanwhile, Singh, who assaulted the staff, has lodged a counter FIR. CCTV footage of the Army officer attacking ground staff at Srinagar airport, as captured in the CCTV footage. Photo: X/@defencealerts New Delhi: In Srinagar's Bemina, Mudasir Ashraf Khan's home is being swarmed by a sea of people. Those nearby, those afar, those among the known and the unknown have been flocking his home since July 26, a routine day for Khan until the unthinkable happened. Khan, who can barely move, says he shivers when he is made to recall the incident that occurred that day at Srinagar's Sheikh Ul Alam International Airport's Boarding Gate No. 2 while he was on duty as SpiceJet ground staff. 'It was very horrible, brutal and terrifying. We never thought it would escalate into bloody and painful injuries. I was crying for help and was screaming for help but whenever the staff members tried to save me from him, he would begin assaulting anyone who came in his way or tried to stop him. I was beaten so much that I lost consciousness, I coughed out blood,' he tells The Wire. The CCTV footage and user-recorded videos of the incident have been circulating on social media. Minutes before the scheduled departure of SpiceJet Flight SG-386 to Delhi, the airport was startled with shrieks of SpiceJet staff, after the airline staff asked an Army officer, who was a passenger on the flight, to pay for his excess baggage. Lieutenant Colonel Ritesh Kumar Singh, who was carrying 16 kg of cabin baggage — double the 7 kg limit, refused to pay excess baggage charges, forcefully entering the aerobridge without completing the boarding process, violating security protocols at the defence airport. Escorted back to the boarding gate by a CISF official, Singh violently charged at the staff with a metal signboard, assaulting four SpiceJet ground staff members, the airline has publicly stated. Singh continually assaulted the staff members, threw punches, kicks and even using a metal queue stand as a weapon. As a result of it, Khan, who was among the victims, suffered spinal cord damage in L1 and L2, bruises on his arm. He has been advised complete bed rest for at least two months now, in addition to medications. Ground staff carrying an injured staff member at Srinagar airport for hospitalisation after the assault, as captured in the CCTV footage. Photo: X/@defencealerts SpiceJet has written to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, seeking action over the 'murderous assault' and the Army has also taken cognisance of the incident and issued a statement saying the Indian Army is committed to upholding the highest standards of discipline and conduct, and takes all allegations seriously and would extend 'full cooperation to the authorities in investigating the case'. SpiceJet has also lodged an FIR with the local police, and the airline has initiated the process to place the passenger on the no-fly list in accordance with civil aviation regulations. The FIR slaps Lt. Col. Singh with sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, including 115 (2) (offense of voluntarily causing hurt and its punishment), 126 (2) (intentionally obstructing someone from moving in a direction they have the right to go), 351 (2) (offense of criminal intimidation which specifies the punishment for general cases of such intimidation), and 131 (punishment for assault or criminal force used against someone without grave and sudden provocation). The FIR details the incident as: 'Singh, whose identification details can be verified from airport security footage and CISF records, engaged in an unprovoked and violent assault against multiple civilian employees of SpiceJet Airlines. The victims of the assault include Mr. Govindrajan Swami, Mr. Mudasir Ashraf Khan, Mr. Nadeem Sofi, Mr. Emaad Bhat. The complaint states that, 'the passenger verbally abused and criminally intimidated the aforementioned staff members in an aggressive and threatening manner. He wrongfully restrained Mr. Mudasir Ashraf Khan, and physically manhandled him in full public view, thereby violating his personal liberty and safety. The passenger then assaulted multiple staff members, causing grievous injuries to the staff. The entire incident occurred within the jurisdiction of Srinagar Airport and was witnessed by several civilians and airport personnel. The incident is believed to have been captured by CCTV surveillance installed at the premises'.' Meanwhile, Khan's family feel a little differently. To them, this incident did not happen in isolation. Khan struggles to even speak and move on his own, while his parents are still not able to process how an incident like this could happen at one of the most guarded places in Kashmir. 'This airport is an international defence airport and has many security personnel and security cameras. My son and his colleagues manhandled in broad daylight. This is highly condemnable,' Khan's mother says. On the other hand, Singh has filed an FIR countering SpiceJet's claims and against the airport staff he was seen beating on CCTV. Sources told The Wire that in his FIR, Singh has accused the airport staff of trying to extort money from him in the name of excess baggage. Shibli Khan, Mudasir's brother, feels that the incident is a signifier of what Kashmiris are being identified as. He says, 'Kashmiris are treated as third-class citizens and many times these assaults and brutal attacks happen but the perpetrator is never held accountable. This incident is a peek at the same. The Army officer himself claimed that the person he assaulted was very weak and he couldn't defend himself. Are we not human?' Recently and even in the years that followed 2019, Kashmiris studying, working or simply existing in mainland India have been the targets of rising hate-speech and hate-crimes owing to their identity. Following the Pahalgam attack on April 22, many Kashmiri students in states including Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh were allegedly asked to leave their rented apartments or university hostels; several of them were physically attacked. In Uttarakhand's capital, Dehradun, around 20 Kashmiri students fled to the airport following warnings from Hindu Raksha Dal. Speaking to The Wire, an airport staff member who witnessed the incident and wished to remain anonymous says that since then, the Srinagar airport has remained ominously quiet, and everyone who works there is still very sensitive towards any loud sound of quarrel they hear. The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
The Hindu
2 hours ago
- The Hindu
Kerala man held while celebrating theft at Tasmac outlet
A 43-year-old man from Kerala was arrested from a Tasmac outlet near Coimbatore railway station when he was celebrating the theft of valuables belonging to a passenger on Sunday. Syeed Ahammed Mubeen, who hails from Vellayil in Kozhikode, was arrested by a joint team of the Railway Protection Force (RPF), its Crime Intelligence Branch (CIB) - Salem and the Government Railway Police (GRP). According to the RPF, S. Vijay Nagaraj, 41, from Cromepet in Chennai complained that his shoulder bag containing laptop and a few other items went missing when a Chennai-bound train he travelled departed from Coimbatore station around 5.40 p.m. on Sunday. A joint RPF, CIB Salem and GRP swiftly acted and apprehended Mubeen, who went to a Tasmac outlet close to the railway station, after the theft. He was found with a black shoulder bag containing a laptop valued ₹3 lakh, an earbud priced ₹38,000, driving licence and registration certificate belonging to the complainant. When questioned, he admitted to having stolen the bag of the passenger. He went to the Tasmac outlet to celebrate the successful theft. The accused was brought to the GRP station, Coimbatore, where a case was registered against him. He was arrested and produced before the Sixth Judicial Magistrate and remanded in judicial custody.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
'Airlines today behave like crooks': Army veterans rally behind Lieutenant Colonel who assaulted SpiceJet staff
A retired Indian Army officer, Lt Col Sushil Singh Sheoran, has come out in support of Lt Col Ritesh Kumar Singh , who was recently booked for assaulting SpiceJet ground staff. Sheoran took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to defend Singh's actions and criticised airline policies. In his post, Sheoran alleged that airlines arbitrarily charge passengers for hand baggage, stating, 'Airlines are cutting costs by reducing ground staff and allowing bags heavier than 7 kg as cabin luggage. Then suddenly, when they want to make money, they start charging extra. You can't just charge arbitrarily. I feel he was absolutely justified. Airlines today behave like crooks. Someone is bound to explode. Only the person on the scene knows the real situation.' Productivity Tool Zero to Hero in Microsoft Excel: Complete Excel guide By Metla Sudha Sekhar View Program Finance Introduction to Technical Analysis & Candlestick Theory By Dinesh Nagpal View Program Finance Financial Literacy i e Lets Crack the Billionaire Code By CA Rahul Gupta View Program Digital Marketing Digital Marketing Masterclass by Neil Patel By Neil Patel View Program Finance Technical Analysis Demystified- A Complete Guide to Trading By Kunal Patel View Program Productivity Tool Excel Essentials to Expert: Your Complete Guide By Study at home View Program Artificial Intelligence AI For Business Professionals Batch 2 By Ansh Mehra View Program Another user claiming to be a veteran shared CCTV footage that, according to him, shows the officer being denied boarding by IndiGo staff at the gate. 'How can a passenger be denied boarding when he holds a valid boarding pass?' he questioned. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like San Justo: Unsold Furniture Liquidation 2024 (Prices May Surprise You) Unsold Furniture | Search Ads Learn More Undo — KishoreVaid (@KishoreVaid) A third veteran recounted the incident in more detail, alleging the officer was travelling urgently on personal leave and had only a small cabin bag weighing around 8–9 kg. 'The bag was cleared at the check-in counter without issue. But at the boarding gate, 4–5 SpiceJet staff suddenly became aggressive about the bag's weight. Despite the officer explaining his situation and even discarding clothes to reduce weight, the staff escalated the situation. One staff member even mocked him, saying, 'Aaj army wala fansa hai.' It was clear they saw an opportunity to intimidate or extract a fine,' he claimed. Live Events However, many users on X criticised the justification being offered for the officer's actions. 'So you're justifying breaking someone's back over excess baggage charges? Simply wow,' one user responded. Another wrote, 'You can't carry 16 kg as hand baggage. No airline allows this—not even in First Class.' A third said, 'Col Sahib, please don't justify the unacceptable behaviour of a serving officer. Physically attacking someone, especially someone likely weaker, is cowardice. It's wiser to apologise than to justify violence.'
