Air India official, accused of acid throwing, reinstated

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - An Air India employee, accused of an acid attack on his colleague, has been reinstated and posted at the Hyderabad airport, an official said Monday.

S. Rajeshwaran, who was the operations manager at the Thiruvananthapuram airport, was arrested in 2008 for an acid attack on airport security manager S.S. Batave near his rented home near here.

Three others were also arrested by the police.

Officials said Rajeshwaran resented Batave’s stand of not issuing passes to temporary employees at the airport.

Rajeshwaran was suspended by Air India following his arrest. He later secured bail, but is facing a departmental inquiry and is also charge sheeted in the case.

Speaking to IANS, top official of Air India K.D. Sivanath said he was surprised that the media was taking so much interest in the case.

“Look, he was not terminated from service, he was only suspended. Now that his suspension has been revoked, he was given a posting out of here. He was given bail by the court also,” Sivanath said here.

“The case is in court and let the crime be proved. Until then, how can one pass judgment whether someone is a criminal or not,” he said.