A GoAir employee nearly lost his job for a hate tweet⁠— but he now says it was an impostor

• According to reports, a complaint with the Mumbai police cyber cell stating that the controversial post was made from the Twitter account of an impostor was filed.
• "The company has put him in suspension till the inquiry, both internal and external, is done and the case is concluded," a GoAir spokesperson told Moneycontrol.
• A Twitter account of Asif Khan with the id '@MdAsif35534489', posted objectionable and hateful comments last week following which there was an uproar on social media.

Three days after terminating the services of a trainee first officer over a hate tweet, the budget airline GoAir on June 7 changed its decision, from termination to suspension, after the trainee reportedly filed a complaint against the carrier.

According to reports, a complaint with the Mumbai police cyber cell stating that the controversial post was made from the Twitter account of an impostor was filed.


"The company has put him in suspension till the inquiry, both internal and external, is done and the case is concluded," a GoAir spokesperson told Moneycontrol.

The company earlier on June 4 tweeted that, "GoAir has a zero-tolerance policy and it is mandatory for all GoAir employees to comply with the company's employment rules, regulations and policies, including social media behaviour. The airline does not associate itself with personal views expressed by an individual or an employee. With immediate effect, GoAir is terminating the employment contract of trainee First Officer Asif Khan."

The trainee first officer Asif Khan in another Facebook post on Sunday said he had lodged an FIR against the person who has used his name and made derogatory comments on the social media platforms.

"I have been getting death threats, abusive hate messages, my mother and sister threatened with rape, all because of mistaken identity and because a guy with the same name as mine had abused Holy Hindu God's," he said.

A Twitter account of Asif Khan with the id '@MdAsif35534489', posted objectionable and hateful comments last week following which there was an uproar on social media and the #boycottGoAir hashtag started trending on Twitter in India.

Screenshots of the objectionable tweets from the Twitter id of the account named "Asif Khan" went viral, seeking action from the airline. The profile of the handle mentioned — cabin crew at @goairlinesindia.

Before the decision of sacking the trainee first officer, the airline had tweeted that it was trying to verify whether the person 'Asif Khan' is associated with the airline.

(With IANS inputs)
SEE ALSO: The $6 billion Wadia family’s plan to shed stake in Britannia has the 150-year old Bombay Burmah up and running

SBI share price is up 5% as brokerages raise target prices to over ₹200