A 56-year-old man has been arrested for smoking beedi inside a flight on Tuesday. The arrested has been identified as Praveen Kumar, a resident of Pali district in Rajasthan.
According to a complaint filed by Vijay Thulluru, a duty manager at SNV Aviation Private Limited, Kumar smoked a beedi inside the toilet on Akasa Air's flight QP 1326 (Ahmedabad-Bengaluru) around 1.10 pm.
The crew immediately secured him and the flight captain declared him an unruly passenger. As soon as the flight landed in the city, the crew handed him over to security.
A spokesperson for Akasa Air said: "On May 16, 2023, a passenger on Akasa Air flight QP1326, flying from Ahmedabad to Bengaluru, was found smoking in the lavatory of the aircraft. Our crew followed the required safety protocols and the passenger was handed over to the local police with the help of CISF, upon landing in Bengaluru. We are assisting authorities with their investigation into this matter."
Kumar has been booked under IPC Section 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) and under the Aircraft Rules.
Kumar is a labourer and had come to Bengaluru to work. He was found carrying a pack of beedi.