Air India Express pilot detained over a week after he ‘assaulted, injured’ passenger at Delhi airport: Cops

Delhi Police detained Air India Express pilot Virender Sejwal over an alleged assault on a passenger at IGI Airport following a dispute at a security checkpoint. (Photo: X/@ankitdewan)

More than a week after he allegedly assaulted a passenger at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in Delhi, Air India Express pilot Virender Sejwal was detained on Monday, police said.

Officers said Sejwal was brought in for questioning on Monday evening, adding that he was questioned at length about the incident after being detained.

The incident took place on December 19 when Sejwal allegedly assaulted and injured a passenger, Ankit Dewan, at the Terminal 1 of the airport following an altercation over the use of a staff security check area.

Dewan had alleged on social media that during the security check for his SpiceJet flight, he and his family, including his four-month-old baby, were guided to use the security check meant for staff and persons with reduced mobility. Sejwal, Dewan claimed, was among airline staff members cutting the queue, after which the pilot assaulted him.

At the time of the incident, Sejwal was not on official duty and was travelling as a passenger with an IndiGo flight to Bengaluru.

The FIR in the matter was filed last week on December 22 under sections 115 (voluntarily causing hurt), 126 (wrongful restraint), and 351 (threatening someone) based on Dewan’s complaint. Speaking to The Indian Express, Dewan said he returned from a holiday in Jaipur and submitted a police complaint via email. Police said the CCTV footage of the incident showed the pilot hitting Dewan and restraining him.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) had ordered a formal investigation into the incident on December 20. The pilot was subsequently removed from official duties by the Tata group-run airline.

Sejwal had countered Dewan’s claims in an official statement on December 21, alleging that Dewan had verbally abused him without provocation and continued using “abusive, degrading and threatening language” even after being asked to stop. His lawyer also claimed that “casteist remarks were made against Capt Sejwal, and absolutely unfathomable threats were made to female members of his family including a child.”

He said that the incident was “misrepresented” on social media, “unfairly projecting it as a ‘pilot vs passenger’ dispute”. The altercation was a “purely personal matter between two passengers” and had “no connection whatsoever” with his professional responsibilities, he had said.