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Ganesh Parkar,
40, of Windsor appeared in federal court in Newark, New Jersey,
on Thursday to face a charge of abusive sexual contact, one day
after the overnight Air India flight from Mumbai to Newark.
"My client asserts his innocence," Parkar's attorney, Frank
Arleo, said by email.
Parkar had a business class seat but chose to sit in a middle
seat next to the woman in economy class, prosecutors said.
The woman fell asleep and later awakened to discover that her
blanket had been pulled off her body, according to a criminal
complaint. After replacing the blanket and going back to sleep,
the woman again woke up to find Parkar's hand inside her shirt,
prosecutors said.
According to court documents, the woman yelled, "What the hell
are you doing?" and crew members instructed Parkar to move back
to his assigned seat.
Parkar repeatedly asked flight attendants to allow him to speak
to the woman but his requests were denied, prosecutors said. He
wrote her two notes in which he apologized for a "moment's
stupidity" and admitted he had been "stupid," according to the
complaint.
Parkar was released on $50,000 bond and ordered to remain under
house arrest.
(Reporting by Joseph Ax; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
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