New Delhi:

A SpiceJet employee was arrested after she slapped a male assistant sub inspector following an altercation over security screening at the Jaipur airport. The incident was caught on a CCTV camera at the airport.

According to CISF officials, Anuradha Rani was stopped by assistant sub inspector Giriraj Prasad over not having valid permission to enter through a gate while she was entering the airport with other staff members around 4 am. Ms Anuradha was then asked to undergo screening for airline crew at a nearby entrance but no female CISF personnel was present there at the time, they added.

The assistant sub inspector then called for a female colleague to complete the security check but an argument had already escalated by then which ended with the female employee slapping the assistant sub inspector, said Jaipur airport station house officer Ram Lal.

According to an official statement by a SpiceJet spokesperson, the employee had a “valid airport entry pass”. The company has also alleged that the female employee was “subjected to inappropriate and unacceptable language by the CISF personnel, including asking her to come and meet him after his duty hours at his home.”

“Today, an unfortunate incident occurred at Jaipur Airport involving a SpiceJet female security staff member and a male CISF personnel. While escorting a catering vehicle at the steel gate, our female security staff member, who had a valid airport entry pass issued by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), India’s civil aviation security regulator, was subjected to inappropriate and unacceptable language by the CISF personnel, including asking her to come and meet him after his duty hours at his home,” said the SpiceJet spokesperson.

“SpiceJet is taking immediate legal action in this serious case of sexual harassment against its female employee and has approached the local police. We stand firmly by our employee and are committed to providing her with full support,” the spokesperson added.

Police have registered a case against the female employee under sections 121 (1) (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty) and 132 (assaulting public servant) of Bharat Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).