A trainee pilot with IndiGo airlines has accused three colleagues of caste abuse at the workplace, alleging they called him derogatory names associated with his caste and told him he did not deserve to sit in the cockpit or fly an aircraft. The complainant further alleged that they told him he should “go back and stitch slippers”.
Based on his complaint, a case has been registered against the three accused under relevant sections of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
“The following casteist and abusive remarks were made in front of others, which constitute grave offences under law: You are not fit to fly an aircraft, go back and stitch slippers, referring to my ancestral caste job. They said you are not even worthy to lick my shoe,” Kumar said in his complaint filed against his colleagues, who have been identified as Tapas Dey, Manish Sahani and Rahul Patil.
“One %#$@ has the guts to sit in front of me and ask for an explanation? You don’t have it in you to be a watchman in this building, and you are asking for an explanation?” Kumar further alleged, as per the complaint filed with the police.
Alleging continuous and targeted harassment and discriminatory treatment at the hands of his colleagues, Kumar also said that these statements were made with clear reference to his caste, with the intention of humiliating him, and undermining his dignity and status as a Scheduled Caste person.
Kumar also said he was subjected to further ill-treatment as he was “forced” to undergo corrective training without any failure on his part, apart from unauthorised salary cuts despite being available for work, sick leave deductions without any valid reason, staff travel and ACM privileges revoked, and issuance of a warning letter without proof, as a tool to pressurise and force his resignation.
The victim also claimed that no action has been initiated against the accused, despite him reporting the matter to the CEO and the Ethics Committee of IndiGo Airlines.
“No action has been taken to address this injustice or protect my dignity and rights,” he said.
Meanwhile, the police have launched a further investigation into the allegations levelled by Ashok Kumar.
