mahua-alleges-harassment-on-indigo-flight

Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra has alleged that she was subjected to harassment by a group of men during an IndiGo flight to Delhi on Thursday. According to Moitra, the individuals filmed her while shouting slogans including “Jai Shri Ram” and “chor, TMC chor,” an apparent reference to allegations of corruption. She has lodged a complaint.

 

Taking to X, the Krishnanagar MP explained she was travelling from Kolkata to the capital for a meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence. She stated that while she was seated in 1F on flight 6E 719, a group of four to six men leered at her upon boarding before moving to the rear of the cabin. She further claimed that as the aircraft landed and waited for the doors to open, the group began chanting and filming her.

 

So here is the official complaint @IndiGo6E and @RamMNK @DGCAIndia - please inform me of action taken. Regards. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/93tRx6izp4

— Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) May 7, 2026

 

Footage from the incident captured the men shouting phrases such as “pishi chor, bhaipo chor” (aunt is a thief, nephew is a thief), directed at TMC leader Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee. Moitra dismissed suggestions that the outburst was a sign of genuine "citizen anger," instead labelling it as targeted harassment that compromised her safety. She has called on IndiGo to review the crew’s report, identify the passengers, and place them on a no-fly list. She also tagged the Union Civil Aviation Minister, Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu, to demand official intervention.

 

Sources suggest that while IndiGo staff intervened to stop the sloganeering, the airline requires a formal complaint from Moitra to launch a full investigation under established aviation protocols.

 

The confrontation follows a significant shift in West Bengal’s political landscape. After fifteen years of TMC rule, the BJP recently secured a landslide victory in the Assembly polls, winning 207 seats to the TMC’s 80. Despite the official dissolution of the Assembly, Mamata Banerjee has so far declined to resign as Chief Minister and is reportedly considering a legal challenge to the election results in the Supreme Court.

 

Also read: People's will is supreme, says Mahua after BJP's victory in WB