Man arrested for smoking ‘Beedi’ on Bengaluru-bound Indigo flight

Bengaluru: A passenger onboard an Indigo flight from Kolkata to Bengaluru faced legal consequences after being caught smoking beedi inside the plane’s toilet.

The incident occurred on Sunday night and resulted in the passenger’s arrest upon landing at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) around midnight.

The passenger identified as G. Karunakaran had occupied seat 24A on flight 6E 487, which departed from Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport on September 3 at 9:11 p.m.

According to the FIR filed by B.M. Puneeth, the station manager of Interglobal Aviation Limited (Indigo), a cabin crew member detected a burning smell emanating from the rear aircraft after it had taken off from Kolkata.

“”It was understood to be emanating from the lavatory, and he knocked at the door of it. The occupant opened it and was found to possess a matchbox in his hand. A half-used beedi was found inside the toilet in his attempt to flush it,” said the FIR.

The cabin crew member knocked on the lavatory door, where they encountered the passenger holding a match box and attempting to flush a partially used beedi down the toilet. The incident prompted immediate action.

Upon landing at Kempegowda International Airport, the passenger was taken into custody by airport authorities and subsequently booked under the Aircraft Act. He now faces charges related to endangering public safety under Section 336 of the Indian Penal Code and violating regulations prohibiting smoking inside an aircraft under Section 25 (3b).