Mumbai, April 24: controversial JNU student leader Kanhaiya Kumar Sunday complained that one of his copassenger in a Mumbai Pune flight tried to strangulate him. Police have detained the accused who has dismissed the allegation as a “cheap publicity” stunt by the student leader. Kanhaiya was subsequently taken out from the plane by the airline staff on safety ground, forcing him to take road route to Pune to attend an event there.
The Maharashtra government has ordered a probe into the matter. Following the complaint police detained a TCS employee Manas Jyoti Deka (33) at Mumbai airport, police said. Prima facie it appears an argument broke out between two groups over seating onboard the flight and Kanhaiya was part of one of them, a senior police official said adding Sahar police is registering the complaints of both the parties. Dismissing the charge as a “cheap publicity” stunt, Deka said, “My hand just happened to brush his neck as I was trying to balance myself on an aching leg. I do not know him personally though I have seen his pictures. This is being done for cheap publicity.”
