A 33-year-old passenger on board an IndiGo flight allegedly tampered with the emergency exit door lever cover shortly after takeoff from Delhi , causing a mid-air scare, police said on Tuesday.
The incident occurred on Monday aboard flight 6E6884 bound for Pune , when the passenger, Gaurav Satyendra Routela, a resident of Saswad, was seated near the emergency exit and he allegedly interfered with the door mechanism, an official said. Police have served a notice under section 35(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) to Routela, and further investigation is underway, he added.
During questioning, Routela claimed that he touched the cover out of curiosity to find out what it was, without knowing that it was connected to the emergency exit, senior inspector Govind Pawar of the Airport Police Station told PTI. An alarm went off after the passenger touched the cover, triggering panic onboard, he said, adding that any attempt to interfere with the emergency exit mechanism could endanger the lives and safety of other passengers.
