New Delhi: In an embarrassment for national carrier Air India, one of its senior-most commanders and regional director (Eastern region), Captain Rohit Bhasin, has been suspended for allegedly shoplifting a wallet in Sydney Saturday.
Air India suspended Bhasin Sunday, after a complaint was filed by the Australasian Regional Manager about the alleged incident at Sydney airport’s duty-free shop.
Captain Bhasin is a well-known name in Air India because he comes from a family of pilots — his wife and two children are also captains. His father, Captain Jai Dev Bhasin, was among the first seven pilots in the country to become a commander in 1954.
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Suspension orders
According to the suspension orders, the incident took place before departure of flight AI-301 from Sydney on 22 June, for which he was rostered as one of the commanders.
The suspension order stated: “Without prejudice to any disciplinary action to be initiated against you and pending inquiry, you are hereby placed under suspension with immediate effect.
“You will not enter the premises of Air India, you will not leave your station (Kolkata) and you will not engage yourself in any employment or avocation.”
An Air India spokesperson said: “Air India lays the highest stress on proper conduct of its staff and has a zero tolerance policy towards acts of impropriety. There is an initial report of one of its captains Mr Rohit Bhasin who is also working as a regional director picking up a wallet from a duty free shop in Sydney.
“Air India has instituted an inquiry into this incident and has placed the captain under suspension. Necessary action will be taken according to the law.”
Unbelievable incident
Industry experts say this is a rare incident wherein a pilot has been blamed for shoplifting.
Saj Ahmad, aviation analyst, said: “It begs the question — why would someone in such a high-ranking position want to jeopardise his career by engaging in petty theft, even if it is from a duty-free outlet?”
Another aviation expert, Mark Martin, said: “It is a whole new level of disappointing, and quite distressing to know. Why would a man of this stature dare do that? There needs to be some CCTV footage to prove this.”