Drunk student urinates on fellow passenger in flight; police says legal action being taken

The incident allegedly took place on flight number AA292, which took off from New York at 9:16 pm on Friday

A drunk Indian student allegedly urinated while asleep and soiled a male co-passenger on an American Airlines flight from New York to Delhi, prompting police to register a case following a complaint from the airline, officials said on Sunday.

The incident took place on Saturday and the case was registered against the student pursuing a course in the United States. While the co-passenger was not keen to escalate the matter after the student apologised, the airline reported the matter to authorities, including the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.

In a statement, American Airlines said its flight AA-292 with service from John F Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to Indira Gandhi International Airport was met by local law enforcement upon arrival in Delhi due to a disruptive customer.

"The flight landed safely at 9.50 pm. We're grateful to our crew members who are consistently dedicated to the safety and care of our customers and handled the circumstances with the utmost professionalism," the airline said.

Officials said the student allegedly urinated while he was asleep and fell on a fellow passenger. The male passenger was not keen on reporting the matter after the student tendered an apology but the airline crew reported it to the pilot, who in turn relayed it to the Air Traffic Control (ATC) at the airport. CISF then took custody of the student and handed him over to police when the flight landed in Delhi.

Delhi Police said it registered a case under sections 510 (misconduct in public by a drunken person) and 294 (punishment for obscene acts or words in public) of the Indian Penal Code and sections 22 and 23 of the Civil Aviation Act. The accused joined the probe along with his father and was released after interrogation.

Police said he has not been arrested as further investigation into the matter is under way.

Earlier in recent months, there were at least two incidents of passengers urinating on co-flyers onboard flights.

In one incident on Air India flight from New York to Delhi on November 26 last year, one passenger Shankar Mishra allegedly urinated on an elderly woman co-passenger. Mishra was arrested and later released on bail.