Delhi airport row: Release claims passenger hurled casteist threats at pilot

Amid the controversy surrounding the alleged assault of a passenger by a pilot at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport on Friday (December 19), the accused came up with his version through a law firm.

The law firm said in a media release, quoted by NDTV, that the passenger, Ankit Dewan, who had accused pilot Capt Virender Sejwal of beating him, had, in fact, made casteist threats against Sejwal.

The issue, triggered by an altercation between Dewan and Sejwal, had subsequently led to the grounding of the latter by Air India Express, his employer. The government had to intervene and order a probe.

'Personal incident'

The law firm said that contrary to how it has been projected, the matter is nothing but a “personal incident” which has been “misrepresented”. The statement said Sejwal was present at the time of the brawl as a passenger and not a pilot, and what transpired between him and Dewan was a “purely personal matter between two passengers”.

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Defending Sejwal, the document counter-accused Dewan, who had claimed that he was thrashed by the former while travelling with his family on SpiceJet for a holiday. It said Dewan presented the facts “selectively” to create a false narrative and that “casteist remarks” were hurled against the pilot and threats were issued to the female members of his family, including a minor.

'Asked me if I was unpadh'

Dewan had earlier alleged that he was asked to use the security check-in queue at Terminal 1 that the staff members use since he was carrying his four-month-old daughter. In a post on X, he wrote, “The staff was cutting the queue ahead of me. On calling them out, Virender, who himself was doing the same thing, asked me if I was unpadh (uneducated), and couldn't read the signs that said this entry was for staff. A verbal scuffle broke out.

“Not able to exercise restraint, the AIX [Air India Express] pilot proceeded to physically assault me, leaving me bloody. The blood in the photograph on his shirt is also mine.”

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As per the release issued on Capt. Sejwal’s behalf, it was Dewan who had started the confrontation by verbally abusing him without provocation and continued with his aggressive and threatening language even when asked to stop.

Soon, the situation turned worse as a physical altercation ensued in which the pilot was also injured. The statement said Dewan did not stop his abuses even after the Central Industrial Security Staff (CISF) personnel who were present there and trying to mediate repeatedly asked him to.

'Dewan wasn't pressured'

While Dewan claimed he was forced to write a letter stating he would not pursue the matter anymore or his holiday plan would be in jeopardy, the pilot’s version is that the matter was voluntarily resolved in the presence of the CISF officials. Both sides signed a statement on their own to confirm no legal steps would be taken, and there was no pressure on Dewan, the statement said.

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The statement also supported the CISF, saying it handled the matter properly by intervening promptly and offering both men the opportunity to file complaints, and they declined it.

It said that since the incident was “personal”, associating Capt. Sejwal’s airline was “unwarranted”, and attempts were made to drag it to gain attention on social media.

The statement said the pilot believes that justice would be served after an impartial treatment of the case.