Judge goes ballistic at Patna airport

Enraged over the delay in getting his cabin baggage at the airport here, a sitting judge of the Patna high court allegedly manhandled airline staff, damaged equipment and verbally abused a court protocol officer.

According to a police complaint filed by the airline — Inter Globe Aviation Ltd (IndiGo) — Justice PC Verma landed at the Jaiprakash Narain International Airport here by IndiGo flight 6E-342 from Lucknow on Wednesday evening. He asked the high court protocol officer, who was standing on the tarmac, to fetch his cabin baggage from the aircraft.

But IndiGo staff member Dheeraj stopped the protocol officer since according to the rules of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, no outsiders are allowed to board the aircraft.

According to the complaint filed by IndiGo’s security chief, Verma verbally abused and assaulted Dheeraj, even throwing and breaking his walkie-talkie and mobile phone.

The judge then began running in the ramp area of the tarmac, abusing and trying to hit whoever came to intervene. Finally, when he was stopped by CISF personnel, he asked them to arrest all the IndiGo staff.

However, the station house officer at the airport police station, Shyam Kishore Ranjan, said, "I have received no such complaint." Additional director general of police Ravindra Kumar said he was not aware of the incident.

Efforts to contact Justice Verma through his personal assistant Amarendra Kumar Bharadwaj and registrar general of the court Birender Kumar proved futile. Bharadwaj said, "He is busy and cannot talk."