The man who was slapped by a co-passenger after a mid-air panic attack on an IndiGo flight has said that he was assaulted when the accused saw that he was “scared”.
Hussain Ahmed Majumdar, 32, a resident of Assam’s Cachar, suffered a panic attack when he was travelling from Mumbai to Silchar via Kolkata on Flight 6E-2387 on Thursday. Two cabin members were helping him exit the aircraft when a passenger on an aisle seat slapped him.
The accused, Hafijul Rahaman, was detained upon landing in Kolkata and handed over to the police. He was later released.
“I boarded the flight at 2 AM. I was scared, and my body was shivering from fear, so I sat next to a passenger. I asked his name, he said Hafijul Rahaman, I understood that he is Muslim and gave my salam. When he saw me, I was nervous, and he lost his control and slapped me 3-4 times,” Mr Majumdar told reporters.
He also said he didn’t “misbehave” with the accused.
“The cabin crew intervened and asked him why he slapped me. The cabin crew offered me water and tried to calm me down,” he added.
Mr Majumdar said he deboarded in Kolkata and was taken to a police station along with the accused for questioning.
He said he missed his flight to Silchar as he was later shifted to a hospital for a check-up.
“Due to the slapping, there is pain on my head and I find it difficult to get up easily,” Mr Majumdar said.
Mr Majumdar then took a train on Friday and was found at a railway station in Assam’s Barpeta, about 400 kilometres from Silchar.