Assam: BJP worker offloaded due to poor conditions at Silchar airport, authorities claim misconduct

A passenger, identified as Sujit Kumar Das Choudhury, and a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was offloaded from a Kolkata-bound Alliance Air flight on September 4. The incident has sparked controversy with conflicting accounts of the reason behind his removal from the flight.

Sujit Das Choudhury, who hails from Silchar, shared his perspective on the incident. He stated, "The aircraft in which I was traveling, I didn't feel comfortable. There was no AC, and it was in poor condition, which is why I decided to disembark from the flight." Choudhury also questioned the claims made by airport authorities, saying, "Is there any video evidence to support these claims? Many passengers on the flight can attest that the conditions were subpar, and some of them also chose to deplane."

P.K. Gorai, an official from the Airport Authority of India (AAI), offered a different account of the incident. According to Gorai, Choudhury was offloaded from the Alliance Air flight due to unruly behavior. He alleged that Choudhury violated standard protocol by continuing to use his cellphone during take-off, despite repeated requests from the crew to turn it off. An altercation ensued between Choudhury and the crew members, leading to allegations of misconduct. Gorai claimed, "At one point, he started threatening the air hostess and said he had the ability to buy the flight and even her."

The situation escalated further as approximately 10 other co-passengers, who were on the same plane as Sujit Choudhury, decided to deboard in protest against the crew members' handling of the situation. This protest caused a delay of 29 minutes for the flight's departure. Initially scheduled to take off for Kolkata from Silchar at 2:20 p.m., the flight eventually departed at 2:49 p.m.