Bank Executive Accused of Urinating on Elderly Woman Mid-Flight From New York

Police in India have arrested a man accused of urinating on an elderly woman during a flight from New York to Delhi. Shankar Mishra, an executive for Wells Fargo bank in the US, has been fired by the company for the "deeply disturbing" incident that had been reported in November. The victim submitted a complaint to the airline, which not only describes the horrifying behavior of Mishra, but the negligence and unprofessional behavior of Air India crew towards the victim. Here is what she says happened.

According to a statement from the victim, a 72-year-old woman whose name the police did not release, she was on a flight from New York to Delhi when an inebriated man (Mishra) came stumbling out of the first class cabin and stopped at her seat. He then urinated on her and didn't stop until her seatmate tapped him and told him to return to his seat. 

The woman's clothes, shoes, and bag were soaked with urine, as was her seat. When the victim asked the cabin crew for help, they refused to touch her belongings and sprayed down her shoes with disinfectant. According to the victim, when she asked to be moved to a different seat, they told her that was not possible as there were no seats, even though other passengers pointed out there were first class seats available.

The victim refused to return to her urine-soaked seat, and was allegedly forced to sit in a tiny steward seat for the rest of the journey, which was five hours. She specifically told cabin crew she did not want to talk to the man, and wanted him arrested when the plane touched down. Disregarding her requests, the cabin crew brought the man over to apologize to her. 

The victim said the man cried and begged her not to take things further, saying he had a wife and children to support. When the plane finally landed, the woman claims she received next to no help from the airline, which has yet to reimburse her for the full price of her plane ticket. According to her, the crew also allowed Mishra to walk away freely.

Reporter Barkha Dutt posted the victim's statement on Twitter, with a scathing comment about the behavior of the cabin crew and Air India. "What happened on Air India with the drunk man urinating on a female passenger is sexual abuse and violation of the worst kind. Read the victims full account of what transpired. It's horrendous that there was no one on ground to record the passengers complaint and follow it up."

Mishra allegedly claims he was drunk and had no idea what he did to the elderly woman. He was sent to prison for 14 days while the investigation took place. If convicted of "outraging the modesty of a woman," he may face three years in prison. "Air India acknowledges that it could have handled these matters better, both in the air and on the ground and is committed to taking action," the airline's CEO and managing director, Campbell Wilson, said in a statement.