Incidents of men urinating mid-flight have taken over the internet and have all of us confused. A mode of travel that used to preserve a certain discipline has now somehow deteriorated and how. The incidents started with a New York to Delhi flight where a man urinated on a co-passenger after being drunk as per Air India. And then similar cases of misdemeanors have continued to happen post that.
Identified as Shankar Mishra, the accused urinated on a co-passenger and the complete story is beyond embarrassing. As per the victim, shortly after lunch was served, Shankar came to her seat inebriated, unzipped his pants, and relieved himself while continuing to expose her to his private parts. The woman in her seventies wrote to the Tata Group Chairman N Chandrashekaharan to inform of him of this appalling incident. But she claims little action was taken. In a shocking twist, the accused told the courts that the woman urinated on her own seat.
This case has crossed the no so thin line between the bizarre and a farce.
Air India urination case: Woman urinated on her own seat, accused tells court. Says ‘many kathak dancers suffer from such a condition’ https://t.co/sSTViSNIA8— Padmaja joshi (@PadmajaJoshi) January 13, 2023
BREAKING: Delhi Court denies bail to Air India urination case accused Shankar Mishra. Court says that the alleged act of accused of relieving himself upon the complainant is “utterly disgusting and repulsive”. The act itself is sufficient to outrage the modesty of a woman.
— Law Today (@LawTodayLive) January 11, 2023
In an equally disgusting event again in Air India, two passengers on a Paris to New Delhi flight were caught. According to the DGCA, one of them was smoking in the lavatory while the other relieved himself on an empty seat and on the blanket of a female passenger when she went to the lavatory. Both were drunk as per reports and were not listening to the cabin crew.
Similarly, in a recent incident, a man headed to UAE from Delhi urinated public at gate 6 of Terminal 3 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport. The accused, Jauhar Ali Khan too was allegedly drunk and caused a ruckus by shouting and abusing people on the 11th of January, Wednesday. Police got information about it and he was arrested under sections 294 (obscene acts) and 510 (misconduct in public by a drunken person). Despite this grave misdemeanor he was later released on a bail bond.
Due to our lame duck justice delivery system crooks like these are gaming it to get their “get out of jail” card. Unfortunate!
— Amma Pakoda (@ammapakoda) January 13, 2023
Actions of the crew and AI still remain unanswered. If there were indeed seats available in F/cl why wasn’t one offered to the lady? What stopped the captain as the seniormost member of the crew to take charge and meet her personally? Grave lapses from AI
— Pran Sathiadasan (@Vimanav) January 14, 2023
There are repeated cases of misbehaving passengers on flights that have left the internet wondering what is going wrong. Are the expectations and unsaid rules about how to act on flights getting blurry? Is it the internalized sense of authority the structure gives men? That no one can tell. But this pattern is worrisome on multiple levels. Whether it is the trauma victims feel, the safety of the cabin crew if these cases repeat, or the age-old pattern of thinking it is okay to urinate in public places, this discussion has to be had.
