‘I gave him Salam, he slapped me instead’: Panicked flyer roughed up on IndiGo flight shares ordeal; here’s what happened | Guwahati News

SILCHAR: Hoosain Ahmed Mazumdar, the 39-year-old from Assam’s Katigorah, who was allegedly assaulted mid-air on an IndiGo flight from Mumbai to Kolkata, finally returned home on Sunday morning, after a 48-hour ordeal, with his family members accusing the airline and authorities of severe ‘negligence’ in communication, leaving them in distress over his whereabouts.Hoosain was located by his cousin Dilwar at Barpeta Road station on Saturday evening, after he had boarded a train for Assam from Kolkata. His uncle, Jubaidul Islam Mazumadar, said, “We were in a state of shock. I had posted on Facebook that my nephew was missing after the flight incident. On Friday night, someone responded, saying the boy in the photo was sitting next to him.”Jubaidul further said the man had helped the youth board a train, which was heading towards Tripura or Badarpur, before helping him get off at Barpeta Road station. “I managed to locate him on Saturday evening. He was sitting next to another person and was disoriented. I brought him home and we reached Katigorah around 7 am on Sunday,” Dilwar said.

Hoosain, who works as a cleaner at a gym in Mumbai, was flying home on a 2 am flight on Friday, when he was assaulted by a co-passenger. Recounting the traumatic experience, he said, “I was very scared on the flight. My body was shivering, so I asked the man’s name who was sitting next to me. He said his name was Hafiz Uddin (Hafizur Rahman), and I gave him salaam. But suddenly, without any reason, he slapped me 3–4 times.”Hoosain said the cabin crew intervened and offered him water, before attempting to calm him down, adding that he had not misbehaved with his assaulter.Once the flight landed in Kolkata, both, Hoosain and Hafizur, were taken to Bidhannagar police station for questioning. While Hoosain was sent for a medical check-up, he missed his connecting flight to Silchar in the ensuing chaos. Meanwhile, Hoosain’s family has strongly criticized IndiGo, stating that the airline failed to arrange a connecting flight or provide updates on his condition. “He was handed over to police, but after that the airline completely washed its hands off the matter. Neither did they inform us, nor did they help him travel further,” a family member said.IndiGo, on its part, has officially declared the assaulter an “unruly” passenger and has also barred him from flying with the airline for a period of 30 days, pending an inquiry. Bidhannagar police, too, have initiated legal action against Hafizur.