BJP leader Kirti Azad writes to PM, seeks justice for 'molested' AI airhostess

The Air India cockpit scuffle has reached the Prime Minister'su00a0 Office (PMO).

Bharatiya Janata Party MP Kirti Azad has written a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, seeking justice for 'molested' Air India airhostess Komal Singh. He has also asked the PMO to look into the case of Air India flight purser Amit Khanna. They reportedly got involved in a scuffle with two pilots on board IC-884, a Sharjah-Lucknow flight, on October 3.

Amit Khanna has been suspended by the airlines.

While the other employee involved in the case, Flight Commander Ranbir Arora, too has been suspended. Komal Singh and co-pilot Aditya Chopra, who was involved in the scuffle, have been de-rostered by Air India.u00a0

Azad claimed during the fight, the aircraft was left unmanned for quite some time, which is clear from the statement of chief airhostess MS Maria Thorpe made to the Air India enquiry committee.

"What if during the scuffle, navigational equipment would have been disturbed? It would have resulted in a disaster. There were 105 passengers onboard," Azad said.

Karma, an NGO headed by Azad's wife Poonam, arranged a press conference on Wednesday along with the parents of Amit Khanna and Komal Singh. They accused Air India of being biased. "No one can be a mute spectator when a woman is being abused. The Air India enquiry report is flawed as the crew members clearly hinted at a different version of the story," said Azad.

"Complaints made to the National Women Commission and the FIR lodged at the Palam airport have failed. There have been similar incidents in the past as well and disciplinary action against the accused in those cases is also awaited," Azad said.