Malayalam actress alleges harassment onboard flight, lodges plaint

Kochi: A Malayalam film actress has lodged a complaint with the police alleging harassment by a male passenger on board an Air India flight bound for Kochi.

The incident allegedly occurred on Tuesday during the flight from Mumbai.

Taking to her social media platform on Tuesday night, the actress alleged that the fellow passenger in question was "inebriated and disruptive".

In an Instagram post detailing the "disturbing incident", she also charged that the response from the airline's ground office and the flight crew was "disappointing." Despite reporting to the air hostess, the only action taken was relocating her to another seat, just before the takeoff, the woman rued.

After landing at the airport here, the issue was reported to the airport and airline authorities, who redirected her to the police aid post there, she explained.

On her Instagram page, she also shared a copy of a complaint lodged with the local police via email in this regard.

She recollected how the intoxicated passenger had occupied her seat and engaged in a heated argument. She also accused him of "misbehaving, including inappropriate physical contact".

"I promptly reported the matter to the Air hostess on the flight. However, the only action taken was my relocation to a middle seat three, four rows ahead. Unfortunately, no measures were implemented against the harasser," the woman said.

Meanwhile, Nedumbassery police on Wednesday said they received an email from her requesting to consider it as her formal complaint.

"We are looking into the matter. We are trying to contact her to collect more details regarding the incident. However, we are yet to get her on the phone," an officer told PTI.

No case has been registered so far, and further actions will be decided after contacting her, he added.