Kanhaiya deplaned after scuffle
Firebrand orator and JNU students’ union president Kanhaiya Kumar on Sunday alleged that a co-flyer, 33year-old Manasjyoti Deka, tried to strangulate him on board a Pune-bound Jet Airways flight, a charge dismissed as "cheap publicity" by the man who was detained in connection with the incident.
"Yet again, this time inside the aircraft, a man tries to strangulate me," Kanhaiya tweeted after the alleged incident which took place when he was inside a Jet Airways aircraft at the airport here. Kanhaiya was subsequently offloaded from the plane by the airline staff on safety ground, forcing him to take road route to Pune to attend an event there.
Following the incident, Deka, a software engineer at TCS in Kolkata, was also detained. A cross-non-cognisable offence has been lodged at Sahar police station.The incident forced Kanhaiya to resort to taking the road route to Pune, where he was scheduled to address a students’ gathering in the evening. After disembarking from the flight, Kumar resorted to give ‘political colour’ to the incident in his series of tweets, saying “Yet again, this time inside the aircraft, a man tries to strangulate me.” “Manas Deka, works in TCS, a strong BJP supporter assaulted me inside the aircraft. Is assault the only tool you have, to fight dissent?,” wonders Kumar in his subsequent tweet. Dubbing the charge as ‘cheap publicity’, Deka said, “I am just an IT professional and not a BJP leader. My leg is injured and thus, I was trying to balance myself on an aching leg. I do not know him personally though I have seen his pictures. This is being done for cheap publicity.” Firing a salvo at the airline, Kanhaiya tweeted, saying: “Basically @jetairways sees no difference between someone who assaults nd d person who is assaulted. They will deplane you, if you complain.” However, the airline was quick to counter the allegation and issued a statement to fend off any confusion. “Some guests on board this morning's flight Jet Airways fight 9W 618 Mumbai to Pune have been offloaded at Mumbai airport in the interest of operational safety. At Jet Airways, the safety and security of our guests and crew is always of prime importance,” the statement reads. Maharashtra Minister of State (Home) Ram Shinde said Kanhaiya was trying to malign the image of the BJP-led state government, adding, “The state government has ordered a detailed inquiry into the episode.” Meanwhile, Joint CP (Law & Order) Deven Bharti said, “Prima facie, it appears that Deka does not know Kanhaiya Kumar at all and this brawl erupted out of confusion. In enquiry, we have found that the allegation of Kanhaiya Kumar is entirely baseless.” Kanhaiya refused to lodge any complaint regarding the said incident despite the senior PI and other officials of Sahar police station asking him to give anything in writing. But on his behalf, Kanhaiya’s friend Dheeraj Kumar lodged a complaint stating that Deka tried to strangulate the budding leader in the flight. “Kanhaiya has not lodged any complaint despite the request of senior PI and other officials of Sahar Police station. Whatever has been alleged by his friend (Dheeraj Sharma) has found to be baseless and incorrect in our enquiry,” he said. Kanhaiya is just trying to exaggerate the whole episode, said Bharti, adding,“We are verifying the twitter handle of Kanhaiya and we will take action after having legal opinion into this matter.”