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GUWAHATI, AUGUST 2: A young man from Assam’s Cachar district has gone missing after a disturbing altercation on an IndiGo flight from Mumbai to Kolkata, where he was reportedly slapped by another passenger.
The incident, which was partly filmed on video and widely circulated on social media, raised serious questions over in-flight safety procedures and the handling of passengers with mental illnesses.
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The missing individual has been identified as Hossain Ahmed Mazumdar, a resident of Katigorah in Cachar district. He had been working at a gym in Mumbai and was on his way back home. In the video that surfaced online, Hossain is seen being escorted to his seat by flight attendants before being slapped by another passenger. Eyewitness testimony and initial reports indicate that Hossain was probably experiencing a panic attack when the attack was committed. Some passengers and crew members allegedly criticized the attack and attempted to intervene.
After the scuffle, Hossain was to take a connecting flight from Kolkata to Silchar. But he never showed up at the airport in Silchar, where his family members had congregated to meet him. His phone is said to have gone unreachable and is likely to have been left behind in Mumbai.
His cousin, Zubairul Islam Mazumdar, expressed the family’s increasing concern:
“When we couldn’t locate him on the Silchar flight, we met the local police and even went to Udharband police station close to the airport. But we got nothing specific about where he was.” Hossain’s father, Abdul Mannan Mazumdar, who is getting cancer treatment, said:
“He was trying very hard in Mumbai to give us support and he was coming back home. I watched the video this morning, and now I have no idea where my son is.”
In a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter), IndiGo Airlines also commented on the incident, as follows:
“We are made aware of an occurrence of a physical altercation on board one of our flights.”. Such indisciplined behavior is not acceptable, and we deplore any such action that risks the safety and dignity of our passengers and staff. Our staff behaved in line with Standard Operating Procedures. The person was recognized as unruly and was handed over to security authorities upon arrival. Regulatory bodies were notified according to procedure. We are dedicated to maintaining a safe and respectful environment on all our flights.”
In spite of the airline’s action, tough questions are still left unanswered. There has been no authoritative report regarding whether Hossain was put in protective custody, given medical treatment, or questioned further by airport or airline authorities.
