No FIR has been registered in the assault case of the Air India staffer by a Shiv Sena MP, Ravindra Gaikwad, according to the AI Cabin Crew Association.

The Association lamented that the Chairman and Managing Director of Air India, Ashwani Lohani, was not present in support of the staff.  

"The CMD should have himself gone and asked the police to file an FIR," said KVJ Rao, General Secretary of Air India Cabin Crew Association. Two complaints have been lodged by the police on the statements of the airport manager and the staffer. "Statements of both the airport manager and the staffer were recorded by the police and two complaints were registered. One of the complaints was related to the assault on the staffer and the other was of delaying the Air India flight," said Rao.   

He said the two complaints have not yet been converted into an FIR. "The police gives lots of excuses when a VIP is involved for not filing an FIR," said Rao. The contractual employee, a part of the commercial staff, was in the airport premises. "He went inside the flight to ask the MP to deboard as the flight did not have a business seat. That is when the altercation took place. And the MP beat him up," said Rao.  

Air India in an official statement yesterday said two FIRs have been filed in the case. One FIR is for assaulting the employee and the second is for delaying the flight for 40 minutes.

 Rao said there is a Supreme Court ruling that in cognizable offences, the police has to file an FIR. "In the Lalita Kumari Vs Union of India case, the SC has given this ruling," he said. 

He also cited the case of three air hostesses with Air India, who were abused in 2009 on a New York-Mumbai flight. "Even then it was the air hostesses who had to personally file the FIR. The whole crew including the Commander had gone to file the FIR," said Rao. 

According to a source in Air India, there are 250 retired employees working on the staff of Air India as contractual employees. Sukumar, the 61-year-old contract employee, is likely to have been a retired Air India employee. 

To reduce liabilities on the airline, the recruitment policy of Air India has shifted to hiring employees on contract. At present there are 1800 contractual cabin crew and 980 contractual pilots. "Contractual employees are also part of the staff of the airline. They must be treated at par," said Rao.