A 35-year-old trainee pilot with IndiGo, belonging to a Scheduled Caste, has filed a police complaint alleging casteist remarks by three senior officials. According to the complaint, the officials told him he was “not fit to fly a plane” and “must stitch shoes” instead. An FIR has been registered against IndiGo officials Tapas Dey, Manish Sahni, and Captain Rahul Patil under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. IndiGo has called the allegations “baseless.”The complainant initially took the matter to the police in Bengaluru, where a zero FIR was lodged — a type of FIR that can be filed at any police station, regardless of where the incident occurred. The case has since been forwarded to Gurugram, the location of IndiGo’s headquarters.IndiGo has denied the allegations, calling them baseless. “IndiGo upholds a zero-tolerance policy towards any form of discrimination, harassment, or bias and remains firmly committed to being an inclusive and respectful workplace. IndiGo strongly refutes these baseless claims and stands by its values of fairness, integrity, and accountability and will extend its support to the law enforcement agencies as required,” a spokesperson for the airline said.In his complaint, the trainee pilot mentioned a meeting held on April 28 at IndiGo’s Gurugram office. He alleged that during the 30-minute interaction, he was told, “You are not fit to fly an aircraft, go back and stitch slippers. You are not even worthy of being a watchman here.”The trainee pilot has alleged that the harassment was intended to pressure him into resigning. He claimed the derogatory remarks were targeted at undermining his identity as a Scheduled Caste individual. He further stated that he faced “professional victimisation” in the form of unjustified salary deductions, forced retraining sessions, and unwarranted warning letters.Despite raising the issue with senior officials and IndiGo’s ethics committee, no action was taken, he alleged. Eventually, he said, he was left with no choice but to approach the police.
