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| - Fact Check: 2017 video of IndiGo staff manhandling passenger resurfaces after airline's record deal
The viral video of the IndiGo employee assaulting an elderly man is not recent at all, but five years old. The man responsible for the scuffle was later fired.
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India Today Fact Check
This incident is more than five years old. The employee responsible for the scuffle was later fired.
A day after IndiGo Airlines signed a record aviation deal worth USD 50 billion to buy 500 Airbus A320 family aircraft, a shocking video of the airline company’s ground staff manhandling and physically assaulting a man at an airport surfaced.
In the video, an elderly man could be seen being held and pulled away by an IndiGo employee. Things suddenly took a violent turn when the man attacked another employee of the airline company while shouting, “How did you push me!” The other employee then got into a scuffle with the man and ultimately pinned him to the ground.
This video was shared by many seeking justice for the passenger, and action against the concerned employees. "INDIGO Flight attendants Misbehaving with Old man who wanted to board the bus to catch the Flight. They pushed him down and pressed his neck. Share this till these hooligans are taught a lesson and similar incidents not repeated,” read one such tweet. Its archived version can be seen here.
India Today found that this incident is from 2017, and the people responsible for this also faced consequences.
Our Probe
A reverse search of screengrabs from the viral video led us to an India Today report from November 8, 2017, making it clear that the incident was not recent. According to the report, this incident took place at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport. The man who was assaulted was identified as Rajeev Katyal.
A Times Of India report from the time said the drama unfolded on October 15, 2017. Katiyal, who had landed in Delhi from Chennai, got into an argument with some ground staffers over some issue and he allegedly abused them. This was followed by a scuffle.
The report also contained a statement from then IndiGo president Aditya Ghosh, who said, “I acknowledge the unpleasant experience our passenger went through while engaging with our staff at Delhi airport. My personal apologies as this does not reflect our culture.”
The statement further added, “Even while the investigation was going on we immediately suspended the involved employees. I personally spoke to the customer and apologised to him the very same day.”
IndiGo, in its report submitted to the Civil Aviation Ministry, said that Montu Kalra, the employee who shot that video, instigated the entire episode. This resulted in his termination. In the report, Aditya Ghosh acknowledged that the airline was at fault and such an incident wouldn’t be repeated.
Therefore, it is clear that the video is more than five years old.
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You can also send us an email at factcheck@intoday.com
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