IndiGo, India’s largest airline, is under fire after a 35-year-old trainee pilot filed an FIR accusing three senior officials of caste-based harassment at the company’s corporate office in Gurgaon.
The pilot, who belongs to a Scheduled Caste, said the incident happened on April 28 during a meeting at Emaar Capital Tower 2 — IndiGo’s main office. The accused officials have been named as Tapas Dey, Manish Sahani, and Captain Rahul Patil.
According to a report by Times of India, the abuse started the moment the pilot entered the office. He claimed one of the seniors, Dey, asked him to leave his phone and bag outside “in a demeaning manner.” That set the tone for the rest of the meeting, which he described as humiliating and casteist.
In a complaint originally filed in Bengaluru and later moved to the DLF-1 police station in Gurgaon, the pilot said he was told things like, “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 pilot didn’t stay silent. He first raised the issue with IndiGo’s senior management and the internal ethics committee. But when nothing happened, he went to the SC/ST Commission for legal support.
He also alleged continued harassment even after the meeting. This included unjustified salary deductions, forced retraining, canceled travel benefits, and warning letters. He called it “professional victimisation.”
The FIR has been registered under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, specifically Sections 3(1)(r) and 3(1)(s) for public humiliation. Additional charges under the new Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita include criminal intimidation, insult, and common intent.
“We have started gathering evidence. Statements will be taken from all involved,” said ASI Dalwinder Singh, as quoted by TOI.
As of now, IndiGo has not responded publicly. Requests for comments remain unanswered. Source: TOI
This isn’t the first time corporate India has faced serious allegations around caste. But for a leading airline like IndiGo — known for its sleek branding and global ambitions — silence may no longer fly.
The issue goes beyond just words. It raises hard questions about who gets to wear the uniform, fly the plane, and speak up without fear in modern India.
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