homebusiness Newscompanies NewsWells Fargo sacks its India VP Shankar Mishra, the Air India urinator
Wells Fargo sacks its India VP Shankar Mishra, the Air India urinator
'We are cooperating with law enforcement,' Wells Fargo said in a statement. The Delhi Police had issued a look out circular against Shankar Mishra on January 5 after reports that Mishra had urinated on a female co-passenger on an Air India aircraft on November 26, 2022 blew up.
American financial services giant Wells Fargo sacked Shankar Mishra, Vice-President of its Indian subsidiary, after he was found to have urinated on a woman in her 70s on board an Air India aircraft from New York to New Delhi. He was reportedly drunk when he committed this nuisance in the Business Class section of the plane. In a statement issued on January 6, the company stated, "this individual has been terminated from Wells Fargo. We are cooperating with law enforcement and ask that any additional inquiries be directed to them."
The company added that these claims were profoundly disturbing and that it holds its employees to the highest standards of conduct in both their professional and personal lives.
The Delhi Police had issued a look out circular against Shankar Mishra on January 5 in response to reports that Mishra had urinated on a female co-passenger on an Air India aircraft on November 26, 2022.
However, a senior police official informed that "they had sent our teams to Mumbai at his known locations, but he was absconding. Our teams are trying to trace him."
In addition, a complaint was filed against Mishra under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 294 (obscene act in public place), 354 (assault or criminal force to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 509 (word, gesture, or act intended to insult a woman's modesty), and 510 (misconduct in public by a drunk person).
A show-cause notice was also sent by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to Air India representatives and the flight's cabin crew, seeking an explanation as to why they should not be penalised for their "dereliction" of duty in managing the "urination" incident on November 26.
The aviation watchdog criticised Air India for acting in a "unprofessional" manner and stated that, on the surface, it looked like that provisions related to the handling of unruly passengers were not complied with.
However, on Friday, the lawyers of the accused Shankar Mishra released a statement in which they claimed that there were WhatsApp chats between him and the 70-year-old woman that furnish the fact that Mishra had used PayTM to make a payment to have her clothing and luggage cleaned.
Their chat made clear that the accused had ordered the clothing and bag on November 28 for dry cleaning, and they were returned to her on November 30.
The woman was said to have been very upset with the alleged act, but the attorneys noted that she had no intention of lodging a complaint. They further stated that the flyer's ongoing grievance only related to the airline's payment of sufficient compensation, for which she raised subsequent complaint on December 20, 2022.
The defence attorneys also disclosed that on November 28, the defendant paid the woman the remuneration that had been agreed upon between them via PayTM. But on December 19, her daughter returned the money after a month.
Additionally, the lawyers claimed that there were no eyewitnesses to the occurrence and that all allegations made by the cabin crew to the investigation committee were merely hearsay evidence. The settlement reached between the parties has also been affirmed in the statements so submitted by the cabin crew.
Also read: Air India passenger recounts appalling international flight ordeal when drunk co-passenger urinated
(Edited by : Shoma Bhattacharjee)
First Published: Jan 6, 2023 7:28 PM IST
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