An Indian-origin pilot was arrested on charges of sex crimes against a child, shortly after his flight landed at San Francisco International Airport, US authorities said.
Rustom Bhagwagar, 34, a Delta airline pilot, was arrested on the evening of July 26, the Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff Investigation Division said in a statement on Monday.
At about 9:35 PM on Saturday, authorities, with the assistance of Homeland Security Investigations, boarded the plane to arrest him, it said.
The County Office said it had been investigating since April 2025 after receiving a report of sex crimes against a child, and an arrest warrant was later secured for Bhagwagar.
Bhagwagar, of Florida, was booked into the Martinez Detention Facility on five counts of oral copulation with a child under 10 years of age. He is being held in lieu of $5 million bail, the statement said.
A report in KTVU.com said that passengers reported seeing multiple federal agents push into the cockpit Saturday and arrest Bhagwagar shortly after the plane landed in San Francisco.
KTVU quoted a statement by Delta to say that the pilot has been suspended from the airline pending the investigation.
"Delta has zero tolerance for unlawful conduct and will fully cooperate with law enforcement," the Delta spokesperson said, according to the report. "We are appalled by reports of the charges related to the arrest and the individual in question has been suspended pending an investigation."
The KTVU report said that a female has alleged that while Bhagwagar was dating her mother, he "sexually abused her from the ages of six until eleven years old."
The girl alleges her mother knew about the abuse because she was present for some of the sexual acts.
Rustom Bhagwagar, 34, a Delta airline pilot, was arrested on the evening of July 26, the Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff Investigation Division said in a statement on Monday.
At about 9:35 PM on Saturday, authorities, with the assistance of Homeland Security Investigations, boarded the plane to arrest him, it said.
The County Office said it had been investigating since April 2025 after receiving a report of sex crimes against a child, and an arrest warrant was later secured for Bhagwagar.
Bhagwagar, of Florida, was booked into the Martinez Detention Facility on five counts of oral copulation with a child under 10 years of age. He is being held in lieu of $5 million bail, the statement said.
A report in KTVU.com said that passengers reported seeing multiple federal agents push into the cockpit Saturday and arrest Bhagwagar shortly after the plane landed in San Francisco.
KTVU quoted a statement by Delta to say that the pilot has been suspended from the airline pending the investigation.
"Delta has zero tolerance for unlawful conduct and will fully cooperate with law enforcement," the Delta spokesperson said, according to the report. "We are appalled by reports of the charges related to the arrest and the individual in question has been suspended pending an investigation."
The KTVU report said that a female has alleged that while Bhagwagar was dating her mother, he "sexually abused her from the ages of six until eleven years old."
The girl alleges her mother knew about the abuse because she was present for some of the sexual acts.
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