The International flight IC 884 from Sharjah to New Delhi, was on its way on the 3rd of October, 2009. There was a mid air scuffle between the crew members which took a serious turn. One of the crew members, air hostess Komal Singh alleged that she was molested and assaulted by 2 pilots on board.
On the 6th of October a committee was set up to probe into the matter. All the 4 members of the crew, Ranbeer Arora, Aditya Chopra, Komal Singh and Amit Khanna were derostered, as the mid air scuffle between the cabin crew and the cockpit could jeopardize the life of 106 passengers on board.
In the report that the committee gave, Komal was chargesheeted by the inquiry committee for violating the code of conduct, by not paying any heed to the companies policies, speaking to the media and disobeying her seniors, while the pilots were given a clean chit by the Air India panel.
And to add insult to injury a senior Air India official said that the complaint lodged by Komal Singh regarding molestation and sexual harassment “is an after-thought.”
Komal Singh then turned to National Commission For Women (NCW) for justice. She sent them an e- mail on the 5th of October and then lodged a written complaint. As she approached them she said, “I want justice. I’m here to submit the chargesheet that AI filed against me.”
Komal Singh met Girija Vyas, the chairperson of NCW with her complaint. Girija Vyas was keen on helping Komal Singh, and on meeting her she assured her that justice would be meted out to her.
After that the NCW formed a 5 member committee to probe into Komal’s charges which was headed by Wansuk Syiem. The report was to be submitted to the Ministry of Women and Child Development.
On being questioned, she told TOI: The committee has asked for more time and some more evidence before it can submit the final report to the ministry of women and child development. The committee had also asked for a full internal inquiry report from Air India but only received a preliminary report, which is not sufficient. We are now waiting for a full report. The commission will try to get Komal justice. We are also preparing guidelines for the safety, security and dignity of air hostesses and will be submitting it to all airlines.”
NCW finally gave its report which has shocked everyone. Komal Singh who had her hopes pinned on NCW has accused that her deposition has been altered. She has accused that their steno Sarla Arya has deleted words and omitted important facts, from her complaint, on purpose. She also claimed that kuljit kaur, a member, of the probe committee formed by NCW, had asked her to compromise and withdraw the case. And worst of all, Wansuk Syiem, who was heading the panel has refused to give her the copies of the cross examination statement to be signed, unless she takes a definite course of action regarding her complaint.
As Komal fights from pillar to post for her ‘honour’will she and her likes get justice? Time will tell.
Are you kidding me? She doesn’t want justice but to have everyone accept her statement that she was molested in front of more than 100 passengers. Its common sense that this cannot be true. No fool in his right mind would sexually harass a person when there are witnesses present [in this case 100 people who cannot be pressured because they most likely are privileged]. She has to be punished to the fullest extent possible. Instead of relying on truth about the incident, those three tried to intimidate superiors by false claims. Throw the trio in prison and lose the key.