IndiGo employee alleges casteist abuse by seniors, FIR lodged

Gurugram: An employee of budget carrier IndiGo has lodged a police complaint against three of his seniors, alleging that they used casteist slurs against him during a company meeting, officials said.

IndiGo, however, dismissed the claims as "baseless" and said it will extend its support to the law enforcement agencies as required.

Sharan A (35) from Bengaluru filed the complaint, based on which a zero FIR was registered by the city police. As the incident took place in Gurugram, Bengaluru police transferred the case to their Gurugram counterparts, the police officials said.

On receiving the zero FIR, Gurugram police registered an FIR at DLF Phase 1 police station on Sunday, they said.

"An FIR has been registered and a probe is underway. We are verifying the facts and action will be taken as per the law," said Rajesh Kumar, Station House Officer, DLF Phase 1.

Refuting the charges, IndiGo said it maintains a zero-tolerance policy towards any form of harassment.

"IndiGo upholds a zero-tolerance policy towards any form of discrimination, harassment, or bias and remains firmly committed to being an inclusive and respectful workplace.

"IndiGo strongly refutes these baseless claims and stands by its values of fairness, integrity and accountability and will extend its support to the law enforcement agencies as required," a spokesperson said.

According to the complainant, he belongs to the Adi Dravida community, a Scheduled Caste, and was subjected to caste-based remarks several times at the workplace.

During a meeting here on April 28, IndiGo employees Tapas Dey, Manish Sahni and Captain Rahul Patil made "derogatory remarks" against the complainant, the FIR stated.

"Caste-based verbal abuse, discrimination and threats were made. I was insulted in front of everyone...

"Even before this, I faced continuous and targeted harassment and discriminatory behaviour. I was issued several warning letters without any fault or proof. Salary cuts, sick leaves curtailed without any valid reason, staff travel and ACM privileges cancelled... The accused also pressured me to resign," Sharan A said in his complaint.

He further alleged that he informed the CEO and the ethics committee of IndiGo about what happened during the April 28 meeting, but no action was taken. After this, he lodged a police complaint.