'Will take action': Scindia on IndiGo's Kannur-Trivandrum flight incident

Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Thursday said that his ministry is looking into the incident pertaining to the protest against Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on IndiGo's Kannur-Trivandrum flight.
 

On Monday, two Youth Congress workers had allegedly raised slogans against Vijayan, who was also on the Kannur-Trivandrum flight, after which a senior LDF leader allegedly pushed the duo, sources said.
 

Vijayan heads the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in Kerala.
 

On Thursday, Congress MP Hibi Eden said on Twitter: "This video clearly shows LDF Convener EP Jayarajan manhandling and pushing two passengers who raised slogans. Why is it that IndiGo, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia are not registering an FIR against him? Is justice selective in the new India?"

Responding to Eden, Scindia tweeted: "We're looking into this and will take action soon."

IndiGo on Thursday indicated that the airline is investigating the incident under the aviation regulator DGCA's "unruly flyer" regulations, which allow the airline concerned to deem a passenger's behaviour as unruly and ban the individual from flight for a specific period of time.
 

Responding to Eden's tweet, the airline said on Twitter: "Sir, on June 16, 2022, IndiGo referred this matter to the Internal Committee (an independent committee comprising of a retired judge, a representative from another airline, and a representative of the passenger/consumer association)."

The matter will be decided by the Internal Committee in accordance with the applicable regulatory guidelines, the airline added.
 

According to the sources, the two Youth Congress workers allegedly raised slogans against Vijayan who was also on the plane on Monday. The cabin crew members tried to calm the workers down but the situation aggravated.
 

The senior LDF leader then allegedly pushed the two Youth Congress workers, they said.
 

The airline - after it completes its investigation into the incident - will inform the DGCA about the action it has taken, the sources said.
 

The two men and another Youth Congress member have been booked for attempt to murder, according to Kerala police.
 

The FIR by the police in Thiruvananthapuram says due to political enmity, the three accused, namely Farzeen Majid, Naveen Kumar and Suneeth Kumar, conspired to kill Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and boarded the flight from Kannur to Thiruvananthapuram.
 

A case was registered against three Youth Congress workers under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 120B (conspiracy), 307 (attempt to murder) and 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty), the police said.
 

Besides, the YC workers were also charged under Section 22 of the Aircraft (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) Rules, Section 11A of the Aircraft Act and Section 3(1) (a) of the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against Safety of Civil Aviation Act.