Pilots booked for ‘obscenity’ against DGCA official

In an unusual move, the country’s aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has filed a police complaint against 34 pilots for allegedly “making obscene remarks” against one of its senior officials on social media.

Acting on the complaint, the Delhi Police on Tuesday questioned over a dozen pilots, mostly from Jet Airways, in this regard. However, the pilots were not arrested or detained. Besides pilots from Jet Airways, those of three other airlines -— IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir — have also been named in the complaint. To back its claims, the DGCA has submitted to the police screenshots of the WhatsApp chat in which the pilots allegedly used ‘abusive’ language against the regulator.

DGCA chief BS Bhullar said, “DGCA has filed a police complaint. Now, it’s for the police to take action.”

Delhi Police said that it called the pilots to DGCA office on Tuesday morning and then took them to the Lodhi Road police station for questioning. Senior police officials clarified that no case was registered. A senior police officer said, “The contents of the complaint are being examined. The statements of the pilots were recorded so as to know their version. Their mobile phones were checked and later …read more