Woman accuses top Jindal executive of showing her porn, groping her on international flight

According to her social media post, this happened when she was on an Etihad flight from Kolkata to Abu Dhabi on her way to Boston. JSPL Chairman Naveen Jindal promises action.

Representational image | Commons

New Delhi: A woman on an Etihad flight from Kolkata to Abu Dhabi on her way to Boston has accused a top executive of Jindal Steels — Dinesh Kr. Saraogi — of showing her explicit content and molesting her.

The woman posted her ordeal on ‘X’, adding that she was grateful to the airline for helping her out when she approached its staff on the flight.

Saraogi, CEO at Vulcan Green Steel, part of Jindal Steel (as per his LinkedIn profile), showed her porn and then groped her, she alleged.

“I was seated next to an industrialist (Dinesh Kr. Saraogi, CEO of Jindal Steel) He must be roughly 65 in age & told me he now lives in Oman but travels frequently. He started chatting me up – very normal conversation about our roots, family etc. & both sons are married & settled in the US etc. The conversation moved to what my hobbies are. He asked if I enjoy watching movies & I was like of course. He then proceeds to tell me he has some movie clips on his phone. He whips out his phone and earphones to show me PORN!,” she posted.

“He started groping me. I was frozen in shock and scare. I eventually ran off to the washroom and complained to the air staff. Thankfully the Etihad team was very proactive and took action immediately. They made me sit at their seating area and served me tea & fruits (sic).”

She further accused Saraogi of asking the airline staff of her whereabouts after she left her seat.

“The staff also informed the cops at Abu Dhabi who were waiting as soon as the gates of the aircraft opened. I could not proceed with a complaint because I would have missed my connecting flight to Boston. I was escorted to the next gate to ensure he did not come near me. He also did not deny this when the cops asked him questions,” she added.

Naveen Jindal, chairman of Jindal Steel and Power Limited and MP from Kurushetra, responded to her post saying that the company has “zero tolerance” in such matters.

“I have asked the team to immediately investigate the matter and thereafter strictest and necessary action will be taken,” Jindal said.

ThePrint reached out to the airline and Jindal through mail and text messages, respectively, for a comment. This report will be updated as and when a response is received.

Narrating her ordeal to ThePrint, the woman said, “the worst part was that it was a contained space. I was stuck in the same box as my abuser.”

“I had to request another passenger to exchange seats with me during landing. The incident took place mid air, and I had to spend the rest of the four-hour flight in the seat for the crew members as the flight was full,” she said.

Both Saraogi and the woman were travelling in business class.

The woman said that the flight had taken off at 9:30 pm and landed at 4:30 am. The airline crew after accommodating her in one of their seats had already alerted the Abu Dhabi police about the incident.

“Two police officers were waiting for us when we landed. One of them spoke to me. I couldn’t go (with them) to write down the complaint because I only had one hour to board the flight to Boston. The man was not allowed to leave the plane and the police questioned him,” she said.

This is an updated report with statement from the complainant.

(Edited by Tony Rai)