Mursalim Sheikh, a passenger on the Delhi bound Indigo flight created a terrific scene on board when he slapped the Air Hostess and indulged in fight with co-passengers. Some reports say that he also shouted Islamic Slogans threatening to harm the aircraft and asked co passengers to embrace Islam. A co-passenger said, “Sheikh was waving a cellphone and threatening sabko dekh loonga (I will teach everyone a lesson).”
He also tried to move forward in the plane but was restrained by the crew and fellow passengers till the aircraft landed at the airport, sources said.
The cabin crew also took security measures to block his access to the front of the aircraft, they said. IndiGo Airlines authorities have said that the man was handed over to the CISF after landing.
The drama began about an hour after the IndiGo flight 6E 196 had taken off from Mumbai at 3.45pm and was flying over Jaipur. Shaikh, bearded and dressed in a pathani suit, was seated on seat 28 A. “He suddenly turned around on the seat to face an aged woman on 29A and started muttering menacingly to her,” a flyer said. An airhostess reportedly asked Shaikh to sit properly, but he kept gazing at her before suddenly slapping her, turning very aggressive.
The situation turned so alarming that the cabin crew and passengers pinned down the flyer, Mursalim Shaikh, 41, and blocked the aisle with a food trolley to prevent him from making a dash for the cockpit.
The plane made a quick descent in Delhi after seeking priority landing, where Shaikh, a used car dealer from Babu Tansen Chawl in Virar, was handed over to security agencies.
The IGI domestic airport police have arrested Shaikh and registered a case for criminal intimidation, assault and threatening the crew. The Intelligence Bureau is quizzing him.