Deboarding incident a rights violation: Government

The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has asked Ministry of Civil Aviation to order an enquiry into the incident which saw off-loading of a differently-abled woman from a flight of a private airline at the Kolkata airport on Sunday.

The ministry has also demanded punishment for the people if found guilty as the incident constituted a “serious violation of her rights”.

Jeeja Ghosh, a teacher at the Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy, Kolkata was asked to deboard a Spicejet flight to Goa Sunday as the pilot reportedly found her unfit to fly alone. She was on her way to attending a conference in Goa.

“The incident prima facie, constitutes serious violation of her rights as person with disability, as also of the Carriage by Air of Persons with Disability and/or Persons with Reduced Mobility Rules, 2008,” said a press statement Wednesday.