‘Go back, stitch slippers’: FIR lodged against 3 IndiGo officials for alleged caste-based harassment of trainee pilot

A trainee pilot at Indigo Airlines has alleged that three officials engaged in caste-based discrimination and humiliation during a meeting on April 28 in Gurgaon, according to a report by the Times of India (TOI). An FIR has been registered against these officials and the case has been filed under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, the report said..

The 35-year-old trainee pilot from Bengaluru has alleged that his senior colleagues — Tapas Dey, Manish Sahani, and Captain Rahul Patil — made casteist remarks against him including statements such as “you are not fit to fly an aircraft, go back and stitch slippers” and “you don't even have the worth to be a watchman here," the report said.

The ‘harassment’ began after the complainant was asked by Dey to leave his phone and bag outside in a “demeaning manner”, it stated.

The trainee pilot claimed that the harassment continued for days and was intended to pressurise him to resign. "The statements they made were not only humiliating but clearly aimed at degrading my identity and status as a Scheduled Caste person," the report quoted the complaint as saying.

He alleged that harassment was more than verbal abuse, including unjustified salary deductions, forced retraining sessions, revocation of travel privileges, and unwarranted warning letters.

The complainant raised the issue to the higher authorities and the ethics committee of the airline; however, no action was taken against the accused officials, forcing him to seek legal recourse, the report noted.

The FIR, which was first filed in Bengaluru and transferred to DLF-1 police station in Gurgaon was lodged under sections 3(1)(r) and 3(1)(s) of the SC/ST Act, that address intentional insults or intimidation intended to humiliate a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe in public sphere. The FIR has also been filed under Sections 351(2) (criminal intimidation), 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), and 3(5) (common intention) of BNS.

"We have begun collecting evidence and will soon record the statements of all parties involved," assistant sub-inspector Dalwinder Singh told TOI.

Indigo's response

In a statement to the media, IndiGo denied the allegations of the trainee pilot. “IndiGo upholds a zero-tolerance policy towards any form of discrimination, harassment, or bias and remains firmly committed to being an inclusive and respectful workplace. IndiGo strongly refutes these baseless claims and stands by its values of fairness, integrity, and accountability and will extend its support to the law enforcement agencies as required,” an airline spokesperson said.