An IndiGo pilot alleges casteism at work; a police complaint filed

A 35-year-old pilot has filed a police complaint alleging casteist insults at work.

A case of casteism has made the headlines, where an IndiGo pilot has alleged casteist insults at work and has even filed a police complaint. The trainee pilot with IndiGo has accused three senior officials of telling him that he was “not fit to fly a plane” and “must stitch shoes” instead.

IndiGo pilot alleges casteist insults at work.

A trainee pilot with IndiGo Airlines has alleged casteist insults at work. He has accused three senior officials of the same, who told him he isn’t fit to fly a plane and must stitch shoes instead. The 35-year-old pilot, who belongs to a Scheduled Caste, has filed a police complaint. The FIR has been registered against IndiGo officials Tapas Dey, Manish Sahni and Captain Rahul Patil under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. IndiGo has termed the allegations “baseless”.

IndiGo thrashes the allegations.

The complaint first came to the attention of the Bengaluru police. The police then registered a zero FIR, which can be filed in any police station irrespective of where the crime took place. It has now been sent to Gurugram, where IndiGo is headquartered. However, IndiGo has thrashed the allegations. A spokesperson for the airline said, “IndiGo upholds a zero-tolerance policy towards any form of discrimination, harassment, or bias and remains firmly committed to being an inclusive and respectful workplace. IndiGo strongly refutes these baseless claims and stands by its values of fairness, integrity, and accountability and will extend its support to the law enforcement agencies as required.”

In his complaint, the trainee pilot referred to a meeting in April at IndiGo’s Gurugram office. He alleged that during the 30-minute meeting, he was told, “You are not fit to fly an aircraft; go back and stitch slippers. You are not even worthy of being a watchman here.” He claimed that the harassment was aimed at forcing him to resign, and derogatory remarks were aimed at degrading his identity as a Scheduled Caste person. He also alleged he suffered “professional victimisation” through unjustified salary cuts, forcing retraining sessions and unwarranted warning letters.