Mahua Moitra on Thursday filed a formal complaint with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, accusing a group of men of harassing her onboard an IndiGo flight while she was travelling to Delhi.

The Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha MP said the incident took place on IndiGo flight 6E 719 while she was heading to attend a meeting of the parliamentary standing committee on defence.

Moitra Alleges Political Slogans and Intimidation

According to Moitra, the incident happened after the aircraft landed and before the cabin doors were opened. She claimed that a group of men began shouting political slogans at her and recorded videos on their mobile phones.

“Chor chor, TMC chor, pishi chor, bhaipo chor (thieves, thieves, TMC is a thief, aunt is a thief, nephew is a thief),” the men allegedly shouted. The slogans targeted Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee. Moitra also said the group shouted “Jai Shri Ram” slogans during the incident.

ALERT! i travelled to Delhi today on official work to attend meeting of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence. Was on seat 1F on 6E 719. 4-6 men boarded in a group & leered at me & went to back of plane. When flight landed & before doors opened this is what they did &… pic.twitter.com/QE0SwrUY8I

— Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) May 7, 2026

She described the episode as harassment and said it created safety concerns inside the aircraft. “This is no ‘citizen anger’. This is harassment and violates my safety in an aircraft. No way that these louts can get away with this harassment inside an airplane,” she said.

In another social media post, she added, "This is BJP culture. Why is anyone surprised?"

MP Says She Later Decided to Speak Publicly

Moitra said she initially ignored the incident and attended the parliamentary meeting as scheduled. However, after watching videos of the episode circulating online, she decided to raise the matter publicly and approach aviation authorities.

Complaint Seeks Action Against Passengers and Crew

In her complaint to the DGCA, Moitra accused the men of deliberately targeting her because of her political affiliation. She alleged that the “miscreants” engaged in “loud and continuous chanting of political slogans of a partisan nature, plainly aimed at intimidating and humiliating me on account of my political affiliation”.

The complaint further stated that the group used “politically charged slogans and chants that had the manifest object and effect of stigmatising me on grounds of my political affiliation; personal abuse, jeers, name-calling and gendered invective directed at me, including remarks designed to provoke, terrify and demean.”

She also accused the group of recording her without permission and encouraging other passengers to join the heckling.

According to the complaint, the behaviour appeared organised and intended for circulation on social media platforms.

Moitra Criticises IndiGo Cabin Crew

The TMC MP also criticised the airline staff for allegedly failing to respond during the incident. She claimed that the cabin crew “remained passive bystanders” and did not intervene or seek assistance.

Moitra urged the DGCA to direct IndiGo to file a complaint over the alleged “unruly behaviour by its Pilot-in-Command” within 48 hours. She also demanded the immediate formation of an Internal Committee to investigate the matter within the mandatory 30-day period.

Additionally, she sought a show-cause notice against IndiGo and the cabin crew members operating the flight, asking them to explain why they “failed to fulfil their statutory responsibilities”.

So far, IndiGo has not released any official statement regarding the allegations.