'Disturbing': Wells Fargo Fires Man Who Urinated on Air India Co-Passenger

Air India passenger Shankar Mishra who peed on woman sacked by his company Wells Fargo

Days after an inebriated man urinated on a woman co-passenger onboard an Air India flight from New York to New Delhi, his employer Wells Fargo fired him for his misconduct in a public place on Friday, 6 January.

The American financial services company, headquartered in California, announced that Shankar Mishra, who served as India Vice-President of its entity in India, has been terminated from the company.

Issuing a statement in this regard, Wells Fargo iterated, "Wells Fargo holds employees to the highest standards of professional and personal behaviour and we find these allegations deeply disturbing. This individual has been terminated from Wells Fargo. We are cooperating with law enforcement and ask that any additional inquiries be directed to them.”

"Mishra is a resident of Mumbai. We had sent our teams to Mumbai at his known locations, but he was absconding. Our teams are trying to trace him," a senior police official has said.

Delhi Police on 5 January wrote to the concerned authorities, seeking a Look Out Circular (LOC) against Shankar Mishra.

Case So Far

The Quint reported earlier that a case was also registered against Mishra under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 294 (obscene act in public place), 354 (assault or criminal force to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 509 (word, gesture, or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman), and 510 (misconduct in public by a drunken person), as well as under Aircraft Rules.

In addition, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued show-cause notices to Air India officials and the flight's cabin crew, requesting an explanation as to why action should not be taken against them for dereliction of duty while handling the November 26 urination incident.

The aviation regulator said Air India's conduct appeared to be "unprofessional" and that, prima facie, it seemed that provisions related to the handling of unruly passengers were not complied with.