Man who urinated on elderly co-passenger arrested
by Imran Ahmed Siddiqui, PTI

NEW DELHI - Shankar Mishra, 34, who has been accused of urinating on an elderly co-passenger in a drunken state on board an Air India flight from New York to Delhi on November 26, has been arrested from Bangalore on Saturday.

Mishra, who was sacked from the US financial services company Wells Fargo against the backdrop of widespread outrage, was brought to Delhi and has been remanded in judicial custody for 14 days.

The court rejected the police’s plea for custody, saying such action just because of public pressure was not required.

Air India CEO Campbell Wilson on Saturday issued an apology over the handling of the incident. He said that the four cabin crew members and a pilot had been de-rostered and the policy of serving alcohol on flights was being reviewed.

Mishra, a Mumbai resident, was picked up from his sister’s home in Bangalore’s Sanjay Nagar in the small hours of Saturday. A police team from Bangalore assisted their Delhi counterparts.

Metropolitan magistrate Anamika noted that Mishra’s police custody was not required for recording the statements of other witnesses. "Just because there’s public pressure, don’t do this. Go by the law,” the judge said.

In the Delhi court, the police had sought three days’ remand for Mishra, saying he was required to be identified by three cabin crew members and two captains and that other co-passengers also needed to be examined. Metropolitan magistrate Anamika noted that Mishra’s police custody was not required for recording the statements of other witnesses.

"Just because there’s public pressure, don’t do this. Go by the law,” the judge said.

The FIR against Mishra has been registered under Sections 294 (obscene act in public place), 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) and 510 (misconduct in public by a drunken person) of the Indian Penal Code as well as under Aircraft Rules.

Air India has imposed a 30-day flying ban on him.