Air India Passenger From London Booked by Airport Police in Ahmedabad for Smoking in Plane’s Toilet

Ahmedabad: Airport police in Ahmedabad have booked a passenger of an Air India flight for smoking in the toilet inside the flight. The accused passenger named Jitish Ramji Pindoriya (from Sukhpar, Bhuj taluka, Kutch district of Gujarat, age 45 years; currently lives in 217, Ashburton avenue, PIN IG39EN London) was carrying cigarettes’ and a cigarette lighter in Air India flight no AI-172 (from London to Ahmedabad). The staff of the flight found a cigarette box of Benson & Hedges company and a lighter of Clipper company. The accused allegedly smoked inside the toilet of the flight. He is booked under CRPC 157. The investigation was handed over to Hansol police.

According to the complaint, the accused was smoking in a toilet when the flight was in the air. The pilot spotted toilet-smoke-warning sign at around 10 am in his cabin and asked cabin crew member Rachna Verma to check into it. After some five minutes, Rachna and another crew member Shrina Sharma, came to pilot and told him that that a smoke alarm was ringing and therefore they had rushed to washroom to check, when they spotted a passenger coming out of the washroom. When checked inside, smell of smoking was found inside the washroom. A person who had left the washroom was sitting on seat C25. When asked whether he had smoked in washroom, the passenger first denied but when questioned further, he admitted that he had smoked in toilet. When checked, he was in possession of Benson & Hedges company’s cigarette packet and Clipper brand lighter.

Pilot of the plane Kunal Kishnani who works for last 15 year in Air India later filed complaint at Airport police station in Ahmedabad after the flight landed at 10.45 am here.

The accused is booked under Indian Penal Code (PIC) section 336; Act endangering life or personal safety of others.—Whoever does any act so rashly or negligently as to endanger human life or the personal safety of others, shall be punished with impris­onment of either description for a term which may extend to three months, or with fine which may extend to two hundred and fifty rupees, or with both. DeshGujarat