Accused of `racism` by Harbhajan Singh, expat pilot sends legal notice to cricketer and Jet Airways

Mumbai: A former expat pilot with the Jet Airways, sacked for allegedly making racial comments, has sent a defamation notice to cricketer Harbhajan Singh, besides two passengers whose "false complaint" cost him his job.

He has also sent a notice to the airline for terminating his contract on the basis of a "false complaint", his lawyer said.

Singh had alleged that Bernd Hosselin, the pilot, "assaulted" a woman passenger and hurled "racial abuse" at another on a domestic flight two months ago.

"The ground (for notice) is two-fold. One for Jet Airways for acting on false complaint of Puja, Jatin (two passengers involved in the alleged incident), and then Harbhajan intervening. Based on their intervention that man was wrongly removed from the service," said Samit Shukla of DSK Legal, which is representing Hosselin.

"We have issued defamation notices to these three individuals and to Jet Airways because they acted on false complaint for them to take remedial measures," he said.

He did not elaborate on what these remedial measures could be.

Jet spokesperson refused to comment, while Singh could not be reached for his reaction.

The former India player, who was not on the flight where the alleged incident took place, tweeted about it after coming to know of it from a Facebook post.

"...This Bernd Hosselin a pilot with @jetairways called my fellow Indian (u bloody Indian get out of my flight) while he is earning here," Singh had tweeted.

"Not only was he racist, but physically assaulted a lady and abused a physically challenged man...," the cricketer said in another tweet.

The alleged incident had taken place on April 6.

Jet Airways subsequently terminated the service contract of the pilot.