IndiGo Airlines Crew Steals $30,000 Gold Chain from Child

BENGALURU- An IndiGo Airlines (6E) crew member faces serious allegations after a gold necklace went missing from a five-year-old passenger during flight 6E661 from Thiruvananthapuram (TRV) to Bangalore (BLR).

The incident occurred on April 1 when flight attendant Aditi Ashwini Sharma allegedly took custody of the child during an in-flight disturbance, returning her without the 20-gram gold necklace.

Photo- IndiGo (Instagram)

IndiGo Crew Steals Gold

The complaint was filed by Priyanka Mukherjee, who was traveling with her daughters aged five and two years. According to her account, the children began arguing shortly after takeoff, prompting cabin crew member Aditi Ashwini Sharma to offer assistance.

The flight attendant suggested taking care of the elder daughter while Mukherjee attended to her younger child.

Upon the aircraft’s descent to Bangalore (BLR), the flight attendant returned the child to her mother.

It was then that Mukherjee discovered her daughter’s gold necklace, weighing approximately 20 grams and valued at around $30,000, was missing. When confronted, Sharma reportedly denied taking the jewelry.

Investigation Challenges and Response

The investigation faces significant hurdles due to the absence of in-flight surveillance footage. After landing in Bangalore, Mukherjee immediately reported the incident to multiple authorities including:

• The Central Industrial Security Force
• IndiGo Airlines management
• Airport authorities
• Local police

“From the time we landed in Bengaluru till the afternoon, I didn’t get a proper response from anyone,” Mukherjee told the Times of India. “The airport authorities informed me that since the incident happened on the flight, I had to deal with the airline and police.”

Police have registered a case and begun investigating the matter, though no arrests have been made. When authorities attempted to question the flight attendant, airline representatives reportedly stated that Sharma denied the allegations and maintained that no CCTV evidence was available to verify the incident.

Photo: Eurospot

IndiGo’s Official Statement

In response to the serious allegations, IndiGo Airlines has issued a formal statement:

“We are aware of a recent incident involving a staff member on flight 6E 661 from Thiruvananthapuram to Bengaluru, regarding a concern raised by our customer. We take such matters extremely seriously and are providing full support and cooperation to the relevant authorities in carrying out the investigations.”

The airline, headquartered in Gurugram, operates India’s largest passenger airline with a market share of 59.2% as of 2023. The company has not disclosed whether the accused flight attendant remains on active duty during the investigation.

Photo: Emirates

Similar Incidents

A 37-year-old Egyptian flight attendant from Emirates Airlines (EK) faces theft charges after allegedly stealing approximately $7,656 from business class passengers traveling from Thailand to Dubai (DXB).

The incident occurred in June 2018 when three brothers temporarily left their seats to assist their ailing father, returning to discover cash missing from their wallets, according to court records obtained by Gulf News.

The three brothers reported the theft occurred when they briefly left their belongings unattended at their business class seats. Upon returning, they discovered approximately 3,700 Emirati dirhams ($1,531) and 14,800 dirhams ($6,125) in combined US dollars and local currency had vanished from their wallets.

“My brothers and I went to check on my father,” one brother testified to prosecutors. “When we returned to our seats, I discovered that Dh 3700 was missing from my wallet. My brothers also discovered that Dh 14,800 in dollars and dirhams were missing from their wallets.”

The brothers immediately alerted the cabin supervisor who documented the incident, photographing the remaining banknotes which had sequential serial numbers to the stolen currency. This detail provided crucial evidence for the subsequent investigation.

Upon landing in Dubai, police collected the passengers’ belongings for fingerprint analysis and conducted a thorough search of the aircraft. While the stolen money wasn’t recovered, forensic evidence allegedly linked the crime to a specific crew member.

The 37-year-old Egyptian flight attendant was identified when police matched his fingerprints to those found on one of the victims’ wallets. He appeared in Dubai court on Wednesday where he pleaded not guilty to the theft charges.

Photo: Emirates

Previous In-Flight Theft Incidents

This incident follows a similar case last year involving a New Zealand couple who lost approximately $4,168 while traveling in Emirates first class from Paris to Dubai.

The couple, Steve Hay and his partner Andy, had stored euros in a carry-on bag while visiting the plane’s bar for about 45 minutes. Upon their return, they discovered nearly all their cash missing.

Despite security officers photographing passenger passports and searching the aircraft upon landing in Dubai, the money was never recovered. “They asked if we suspected anybody. We said we wouldn’t have a clue,” Hay told the Herald.

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The post IndiGo Airlines Crew Steals $30,000 Gold Chain from Child appeared first on Aviation A2Z.