The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has ordered a probe into how a Singapore-bound flight took off hours ahead of schedule, leaving behind 35 passengers at the Amritsar airport.

The probe was initiated by the aviation regulatory authority after a Scoot Airline flight which was scheduled to depart at 7.55pm on Wednesday, January 18,  from the Amritsar airport took off at 3pm, hours ahead of its departure time.

This triggered chaos at the airport with angry passengers who were left behind staging a protest. They registered their complaint with authorities concerned at the airport.

After the airport authorities contacted the airline officials they were informed that the passengers had been sounded about the change in flight time via e-mail. “Around 280 passengers were to travel to Singapore but 253 passengers were rescheduled, leaving behind over 30 passengers behind,” Amritsar airport Director told ANI.

The DGCA has sought details from both Scoot Airline which is a Singaporean low-cost airline and a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore Airlines and the Amritsar Airport authority.

According to the airline, all the passengers were informed about the change in timing via email. An airport official told ANI that the travel agent, who booked the tickets for 30 people in a group, had not informed them (passengers) about the change in flight timings due to which the airline flew with the passengers who had reported on time.

BBC documentary on 2002 Gujarat riots a ‘propaganda piece’: India

India on Thursday, January 19, described a BBC documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots as a “propaganda piece” designed to push a particular “discredited narrative”.

The bias, lack of objectivity and continuing colonial mindset are blatantly visible, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said at a media briefing while replying to a volley of questions on the documentary.

The documentary deals with the riots that broke out in Gujarat when Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister.

Bagchi said the documentary is a reflection on the agency and individuals that are peddling “this narrative” again.

“It makes us wonder about purpose of this exercise and agenda behind it,” he said.