A 43-second video showing a man, seated in an aeroplane, slapping his co-passenger, has gone viral on social media, with users claiming that it showed a Hindu passenger assaulting a Muslim man inside an IndiGo flight. The video sparked outrage among users who called the “Islamophobic” act an example of how “Muslims in India can now be attacked anywhere without any consequences,” while urging the carrier to take stringent action against the passenger.
The archived version of the post can be seen here.
Fact Check
Newschecker ran a keyword search for “Indigo flight assault,” which led us to multiple reports on the incident, stating that IndiGo has barred a passenger, who had slapped a panicking co-flyer on an aircraft headed from Mumbai to Kolkata on August 1, from all its flights, and that he was handed over to law enforcement agencies at the destination airport for unruly conduct. None of the reports, seen here, here and here, stated that there was a communal angle to the incident.
The reports led us to this post on Facebook by Bidhannagar City Police, dated August 2, 2025, clarifying about what had happened. “On 01.08.2025, a complaint was received from IndiGo regarding two Indian male passengers who were travelling on flight 6E-138 from Mumbai to Kolkata. During the flight, a heated altercation ensued between the two, following which (Hafijul Rahaman) slapped the other (Hossain Ahmed Majumder). The passenger was declared unruly by the cabin crew of Indigo and handed over to Police. Legal action has been initiated.” A similar X post, dated August 2, 2025, can be seen here, where we can clearly see that the two individuals involved in the incident belonged to the same religious community.
We also came across this August 1, 2025 X post by Jagriti Chandra, aviation journalist with The Hindu, who confirmed that both the persons belonged to the same religious community.
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Conclusion
Video of altercation on IndiGo flight viral with false communal claim that a Hindu man slapped a Muslim co-passenger
Sources
Facebook post, Bidhannagar City Police, August 2, 2025
X post, Jagriti Chandra, August 1, 2025
