The Air India Express pilot, who allegedly assaulted a passenger at the Delhi airport on December 19, has been arrested, police said on Tuesday. Captain Virender Sejwal was off duty when the alleged assault took place.
The matter came to light after Ankit Dewan posted a photo on social media showing his injured face. Dewan said Sejwal assaulted him in front of his seven-year-old daughter, who was left traumatised.
Police said Sejwal was first detained after an inquiry for questioning on Monday. Police said they collected all evidence from the airport and security agencies and arrested him after interrogation.
Police last week said they had approached airport authorities, collected the CCTV footage showing the assault, and sent Dewan for a medical examination, which showed a nasal fracture, bruises, and injuries. They called the airport security staff for statements as they were the first to intervene.
Deputy police commissioner Vichitra Veer said Dewan’s statement has already been recorded.
Dewan said they were asked to use the security check area that the staff uses because their four-month-old baby was with them. He added that the staff was cutting the queue ahead of him, and on calling them out, Sejwal, who was doing the same, asked him if he was uneducated and could not read the signs that said this entry was for staff.
Air India Express suspended Sejwal even as police received two cross-complaints. Sejwal, in his complaint, accused Dewan of initiating the fight by abusing him without provocation and using abusive, degrading, and threatening language. He said he also sustained injuries.
Sejwal was booked under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita’s sections 115 (voluntarily causing hurt), 126 (wrongful restraint), and 351 (criminal intimidation).
