He questioned the scribe asking “What did he (the AI official) say...Yes, I beat him with a sandal 25 times. Should I tolerate abuses from the media, from the company (Air India) just because I am an MP?,” He added “I told him (the official) that I have given a complaint to the air-hostess, you should refer to that. I am not going to repeat my complaint to whoever comes to ask about it. I asked him to call a senior who could resolve the issue but he said no, I will look into it,”
He then thundered ”I slapped him...Should I hear abuses from everyone. I am from Shiv Sena not BJP. Let him complain to anyone. I will give my complaint to the Lok Sabha Speaker," It is comingout that the MP bookd in Business Class but the Airline changed the flight to an all economy aircrat and the MP's personal secretary was informed in Delhi about the change and also offered that he could cancel the booking. But the MP reached the Pune airport and boarded the flight.
AI official added “The duty manager R Sukumar, 60, was called and he started convincing him. The MP started shouting at him, snatched his glasses and pushed him to the ground. He fell down and the MP started beating him with slippers. The airport manager, a former hockey player, rushed and saved him,”
Airport source say “Incident was reported from Air India flight AI 852 (Pune-Delhi), in which MP Ravindra Gaikwad was travelling. The flight landed around 10 am but the MP refused to deboard. When the airline security staff was called and he got angry and started beating them with slippers,”. The staffer was a 60 year old Duty Manager R. Sukumar.