Air India 'peeing' incident: Shankar Mishra sent to 14-day judicial custody

Shankar Mishra being taken away by the police from the DCP office at IGI Airport on Saturday. Pic/PTI

A Delhi court on Saturday sent Shankar Mishra, accused of urinating on a woman co-passenger on an Air India flight, to judicial remand for 14 days while rejecting a plea by police for his custody. The police sought his remand for three days for custodial interrogation, saying he was required to be identified by three cabin crew members and two captains and other co-passengers were also to be examined.

Metropolitan Magistrate Anamika passed the order to send Mishra to judicial remand, noting that his custody was not required by the police for recording the statements of other witnesses, including cabin crew and co-passengers. "Just because there's public pressure, don't do this. Go by the law," the judge said, adding that the police custody is not required for recording the statement of witnesses.

Also Read: Air India 'peeing' incident: Delhi Police arrests accused from Bengaluru

The court noted that on the basis of the evidence, the accused prima facie did not cooperate in the investigation. "Perusal of records shows that the accused was deliberately avoiding joining the investigation. In order to make further investigation and recording of statements of crew members, his custody is not required," the judge said. The court posted for January 11 the consideration of the bail application of the accused.

Meanwhile, the police refused to hand over a copy of the FIR to an advocate appearing for the complainant, saying the "case has been so viral, we do not want to give a copy of the complaint to anyone but the complainant". Bengaluru police had assisted Delhi police in arresting Shankar Mishra, accused of urinating on a co-passenger on a Delhi-bound Air India flight from New York on November 26, from Sanjay Nagar area
in the city.

AI crew members join probe

Three Air India crew members on Saturday joined the investigation at the Indira Gandhi International Airport police station in Delhi in connection with the onboard urination case. Their statements will help police to establish the sequence of the alleged event, said an official.

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