Air India spokesperson Dhananjay Kumar told media: "We have formed a committee to examine the whole incident. As soon as the report comes, the management will decide the next course of action. We are planning to file an FIR today."

Air India has begun contacting passengers on the flight as some of them may have videoed the incident or clicked pictures during the fracas between Gaikwad and the airline officials.

Meanwhile, Arvind Sawant, a Sena leader and MP from south Mumbai, defended Gaikwad and described the assault as a "reaction to rude and insulting behaviour of Air India officials".

"Gaikwad is a professor by profession and he is known for his peaceful demeanour. Although Gaikwad was quite polite during the argument, the Air India officers were rude," he said.

"They insulted him and used abusive language. One cannot expect us to keep quiet in such a situation. We at Shiv Sena do not tolerate injustice. We do not see anything wrong in Gaikwad's reaction," Sawant told media.

The incident happened when flight AI852 from Pune landed at Delhi airport around 10.30 a.m.