New Delhi, April 11 (IANS): Delhi Police is investigating claims by Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad that Air India staffers provoked and manhandled him, forcing him to hit back, a senior officer said on Tuesday.
The Delhi Police Crime Branch is corroborating the sequence of events of March 23 to fill the “evidence gap” before taking any action against Gaikwad, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Praveer Ranjan told IANS.
“There is a big gap in the evidence on the alleged assault of an Air India staffer by Gaikwad, who has raised doubts regarding the case,” Ranjan said.
Gaikwad had gloated on March 23 to the media that he repeatedly assaulted Air India duty manager R. Sukumar, 60, with his slipper over a row over lack of business class seats on a Pune-Delhi flight.The incident led to Air India and all private airlines banning Gaikwad. The ban has since been lifted.
Ranjan said the investigating team would first analyse a “statement” from the MP in which he has claimed that he was initially manhandled by Air India staffers. This, he said, provoked him.
The MP had provided the statement to the Civil Aviation Ministry. This has reached Delhi Police.
