‘Room locked from inside’: Air India captain found dead in Delhi hotel; brother alerted staff

A day before he was scheduled to pilot a flight, a Mumbai-based Air India captain, in his 40s, was found dead on Friday in a luxury hotel room in south Delhi’s Vasant Kunj, police said on Saturday.

Police said the pilot had been staying at the hotel during a layover since Thursday.

According to police, an autopsy was conducted at Safdarjung Hospital on Saturday to ascertain the cause of death, and inquest proceedings under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita were initiated.

Deputy commissioner of police (southwest) Amit Goel said the hotel informed the Vasant Kunj North police station about the incident on Friday, and a police team was deployed. Personnel found the pilot unconscious and shifted him to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared him dead.

Police found the man was an airline captain and had checked into the hotel on Thursday. On Friday evening, the pilot’s brother contacted the hotel manager and informed him that his brother was not responding to his phone calls.

“Thereafter, the manager went to the pilot’s room, which was locked from inside. He opened the door using the hotel master key and found the pilot lying unconscious. The cause of death will be ascertained after we receive the postmortem report. Further enquiry is in progress,” added the DCP.

In a statement issued, Air India said it was “deeply saddened” by the incident. It added that the pilot was listed to operate a flight early Saturday morning. The pilot had earlier worked with Air India Express and moved to Air India a couple of months ago.

“Air India is in close touch with his family and is extending all support at this time of grief,” an Air India spokesperson said.

HT contacted the hotel on its landline number for a comment. The executive who answered the call said they will revert.