Passenger caught smoking on Doha-Mumbai Indigo flight, arrested

Jesso Jerome

A 24-year-old passenger on a Doha-Mumbai Indigo flight created panic hours before landing at the Mumbai International Airport in the wee hours of Sunday. He was caught red-handed smoking in the toilet of the aircraft. Crew members got a beep alerting them and immediately got the passenger to open the door. After landing in Mumbai the passenger was handed over to the Sahar police, who arrested him. He was granted bail by the Bandra court.

The passenger was identified as Jesso T Jerome, a resident of Kollam in Kerala. He has been working in Doha as a forklift operator with a private company for the past one year. He had a connecting flight from Mumbai to Thiruvananthapuram.

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Smoking is not allowed on board flights under India's air safety rules. Senior PI Sahar police station Shashikant Mane said, "After recording crew members' statement, the passenger was arrested under section 336 (Act endangering life or personal safety of others) of IPC and section 25 (Smoking in aircraft) of The Aircraft Rules. The matter is being investigated further."

"The crew recovered two John Player cigarettes and a lighter from him. There was a security lapse at Doha airport where he boarded the flight. He told us that he was not aware of the no-smoking rules," said an officer from Sahar police station. "The accused was produced in Bandra holiday court and granted R15,000 cash bail by the magistrate," said Investigating Officer, PSI Ajaykumar Mohite. The Indigo spokesperson was not available for comment.

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