'Air India has punished the victim'

Delhi: The Air India enquiry committee constituted to investigate a mid-air scuffle on a Sharjah-Lucknow flight early this month has chargesheeted air hostess Komal Singh, who had reportedly leveled molestation charges against two pilots.
Sources in the airline said the air hostess has been punished for flouting company rules. "Komal Singh has been chargesheeted for speaking to the media against company policies. She has also been accused of insubordination, disobeying seniors," said a senior official working with the airline, wishing anonymity.
The Air India spokesperson could not be contacted despite repeated attempts, email and text messages.
Even while Singh remains tight-lipped about the verdict, other air hostesses and women employees of the airline are accusing the management of being biased.
"Komal Singh was the victim. She was sexually harassed on duty by her seniors. But the enquiry committee has chosen to punish her instead. She is being victimised because she is a woman," said a senior Air India air hostess, wishing anonymity.
Confirming the chargesheet, Singh's sister Poonam Singh said, "We were expecting the enquiry committee and Air India to be fair. But they have punished the victim," said Poonam.
Interestingly, flight purser Amit Khanna, who had got into the scuffle with Flight Commander Ranbir Arora and his co-pilot Aditya Chopra, has also been chargesheeted for the same reasons by the committee.
On October 6, Air India had constituted a five-member committee, headed by a senior woman official, to examine the charges of sexual harassment leveled by Singh against the two pilots. The committee also included the member of an NGO.
29/10/09 Surender Sharma/MiD DAY

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Categories: Air India Domestic Oct 2009, Foreign Oct 2009, NACIL Oct 2009, Safety Oct 2009