Day after mid-day report, employers ask T2 guard to report to work again

Shahina Abdul Aziz Patha and T2

Yesterday, mid-day had reported that a security guard was browbeaten into not showing up for work at Terminal 2 of the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, because she complained to the police about the apathy of her seniors over a torn and tattered tricolour being flown atop the mast.

Also read: T2 guard complains about torn tricolour, gets banned from work

Shahina Pathan (inset)

Close on the heels of the report, officials of the company approached the 22 year-old woman yesterday and tried to coax her into rejoining work (‘I was fired for complaining about torn flag at T2,' May 23).

According to the complainant Shahina Pathan, representatives of Tops Security made repeated attempts to woo her back to work, assuring her that she would not suffer in any way if she did. Unconvinced, Pathan asked them to make the assurance in writing. No such letter was issued, however, and the security guard was asked to return on Friday for the document.

mid-day's report on Thursday

Also read: Tricolour fluttering on top of T2 at midnight creates a flutter

Pathan said, "After the matter was reported in mid-day, my branch manager Ravi Ranawat kept calling me. When I was heading to the Sahar police station to find out what was being done about my complaint, he accosted me."

Also read: Is the new T2 aiding smugglers evade customs?

She added, "All day, the Tops officials asked me to re-join the job, but I refused, because I have lost faith in them. They can do anything. I wanted everything in writing.

I visited the airport office twice to collect the letter, but they asked me to visit them on Friday."

Meanwhile, a representative of Tops Security said, "We are ready to keep her on the job, but she should give it to us in writing that she wants to work with our company. I will speak to my bosses." Iftekhar Ahmed, marketing head of Tops Security, said, "We never terminated her. It was she who stopped showing up for duty."

For the past two days, Pathan claimed she had been cooling her heels at home at the orders of her superiors at work, who did not take kindly to her complaint to the police about a torn flag being flown atop the flagpole at the terminal. Pathan had approached Sahar police station and filed the complaint in writing against Tops Security's branch manager and the land site officer of the Airports Authority of India.