According to the woman, the incident took place on January 31 when she was travelling with three of her family members to Bagdogra. Her family, who had seats just a row ahead, asked her to shift to the other side so that they could see each other. The woman, a civil services aspirant, said she moved to a seat where a man was sitting in the middle seat with the window and the aisle seats vacant.

“I thought I could take the aisle seat and the man didn’t object so I sat there. After 15 minutes of take off, I felt I was being poked. I thought there was a space issue so everyone had to adjust the armrest. He even tried to move his hands on my thighs. However, the guy changed his position when the crew came and was trying to cover his penis with his hand. I stood and slapped him,” the woman told The Indian Express.

“That’s when everyone came. The flight attendants started asking him how he was and if he needed anything. Despite my explaining what happened they showed cold behaviour towards me and addressed him as ‘sir’. It angered me because I was the victim, not him,” she said.

The victim said when they landed at the Bagdogra airport she wanted to lodge a complaint but the airline staff and others told her it was a long process and would cause a lot of trouble.

“The guy wasn’t a small boy. He is a fifth-year law student who knew what he was doing. He should also face the consequences. But it is the airline staff who dissuaded me from filing a complaint. In fact, the airport authorities and security people told me to allow him to go after an apology,” she told The Indian Express.

“But what I faced is haunting me. I want to clear my civil services. I want to concentrate on my studies.”

On their part, the SpiceJet spokesperson said in a statement the cabin crew “promptly intervened to address the situation and that the co-passenger “denied any wrongdoing”.

“Efforts were made to resolve the matter by relocating both passengers to separate seats, with the crew facilitating the relocation of the male passenger. Upon arrival at Bagdogra airport, both passengers were assisted and escorted by SpiceJet security staff to CISF officials in the arrival area,” said the spokesperson.

“The female passenger demanded action against the co-passenger. The co-passenger tendered an apology in front of CISF staff, and the female passenger left the airport without filing any written complaint, hindering further investigation by SpiceJet. Throughout the incident, our cabin crew actively assisted the female passenger and ensured her comfort and safety,” added the spokesperson.