A few days back in an Instagram Live video, Dangal movie fame Zaira Wasim broke down several times and said she was being molested on an Air Vistara flight from Delhi to Mumbai when a co-passenger sitting behind her put up his feet on her armrest.
The Civil Aviation Ministry and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) have sought details from Air Vistara when Zaira Wasim accused a co-passenger for molestation during Delhi-Mumbai Vistara flight. Following the incident on 9 December, accused Vikram Sachdeva was arrested.
The sources said the airline has submitted its final investigation report into the incident to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Tuesday.
Vikram Sachdeva's wife, Divya Sachdeva, came out in defense of her husband and responded to the allegations leveled against him.
"We as a family are completely shattered. My father is an ex-army officer and my husband is an income tax officer's son. We respect women. She (Zaira) is making an allegation for publicity to get the limelight. He had gone for the condolence prayer of his real mama. He was in trauma and shock. He was exhausted and just wanted to sleep. Every time women needn't be right. Men can be innocent too," said Divya, according to a report.
Divya said that her husband was "innocent" and that he did not have any "intention to molest", according to a tweet by ANI.
Sachdeva also told the police that his foot touched the actor by mistake and he immediately apologised to her after she raised an alarm.
The accused passenger as per flight attendants was sleeping throughout the journey. Co passengers also affirmed that the accused is innocent.
In a statement to Sahar Police, a conpassenger and witness, who did not personally know Vikram Sachdeva, said that he "did not see" Sachdeva misbehaving with the actress.
"I saw Sachdeva doze off immediately after he settled in his seat after boarding the flight at Delhi. His fault was he kept his legs on the armrest, which was wrong. I did not see him misbehaving. He also apologized when the actor shouted at him when the flight landed at Mumbai airport and the matter was settled then," he was quoted as saying.
Such statements by co-passengers and crew members raise serious question regarding accusations made by Zaira Wasim. If the allegations are false then it is cheapest form of publicity stunt. But we must wait till police comes up with final report after investigation.
– by Shaurya Ritwik, Shaurya is Sub-Editor at NewsGram and writes on Geo-politcs, Culture, Indology and Business. Twitter Handle – @shauryaritwik