Shankar Mishra is missing, and a lookout notice or airport alert has been put out. (File)
New Delhi:
Mumbai man Shankar Mishra, who urinated on an elderly woman on an Air India flight in November, has been sacked by his company, Wells Fargo.
The company said the allegations against Shankar Mishra, 34, were “deeply disturbing“.
He worked as vice-president of the India chapter of the American multinational financial services firm headquartered in California, reported news agency PTI.
“Wells Fargo holds employees to the highest standards of professional and personal behaviour and we find these allegations deeply disturbing. This individual has been terminated from Wells Fargo,” the company said in a statement this evening.
Shankar Mishra is missing, and a lookout notice or airport alert has been put out as the police hunt for him.
On a New York-Delhi Air India flight on November 26, Shankar Mishra allegedly unzipped his pants and urinated on a woman in the business class. He later begged the woman not to report him to the police, saying it would impact his wife and child.
Air India filed a police complaint only this week and said as there was “no further flare-up or confrontation”, and “respecting the perceived wishes of the female passenger, the crew elected not to summon law enforcement upon landing.
Following the outcry after the incident surfaced earlier this week, the airline banned Shankar Mishra from flying for 30 days.
Air India officials and the crew of the flight have been asked to explain their handling of the incident after widespread shock and disgust.
The aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has now warned of strict action if airline staff fail to act against passengers who are unruly or behave inappropriately.
As Air India faces scrutiny, its CEO Campbell Wilson said crew should report any improper behaviour on aircraft to authorities at the earliest, even if it seems the “matter has been settled”.
“The repulsion felt by the affected passenger is totally understandable, and we share her distress,” Mr Wilson wrote in an internal memo.
