'Go, stitch slippers' remark: IndiGo denies allegations by trainee pilot; pledges full cooperation with police

NEW DELHI: IndiGo Airlines on Monday strongly denied allegations of workplace casteism made by a 35-year-old trainee pilot who filed an FIR against three senior officials for caste-based harassment at the company's corporate office.The pilot accused Tapas Dey, Manish Sahani, and Captain Rahul Patil of verbal abuse and discriminatory behavior during a meeting on April 28 at their headquarters in Emaar Capital Tower 2."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," stated an IndiGo spokesperson.The case was initially filed as a zero FIR in Bengaluru before being transferred to DLF-1 police station in Gurgaon. The charges fall under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and BNS.The trainee pilot from Bengaluru alleged that the harassment began when Dey demanded he leave his phone and bag outside in a demeaning manner. During the 30-minute meeting, the officials allegedly made casteist remarks, including statements like "you are not fit to fly an aircraft, go back and stitch slippers" and "you don't even have the worth to be a watchman here."

The complainant claimed the harassment persisted for days, allegedly designed to force his resignation. The alleged mistreatment extended beyond verbal abuse to include professional victimization through unjustified salary deductions, forced retraining sessions, revocation of travel privileges, and unwarranted warning letters."The statements they made were not only humiliating but clearly aimed at degrading my identity and status as a Scheduled Caste person," the complaint stated.The pilot claimed that despite escalating the matter to higher officials and the company's ethics committee, no action was taken, leading him to approach the SC/ST cell for legal intervention.The FIR was registered under sections 3(1)(r) and 3(1)(s) of the SC/ST Act, which address intentional insults or intimidation meant to humiliate a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe member in public view. Additional charges include sections 351(2) for criminal intimidation, 352 for intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace, and 3(5) for common intention of BNS.Assistant Sub-Inspector Dalwinder Singh stated they have begun collecting evidence and will soon record statements from all involved parties.The airline has committed to cooperating with law enforcement authorities regarding this matter, though they did not respond to requests for comment specifically about the FIR.