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London pharmacist suspended after masturbating on Air India flight — then lying about conviction twice to keep his job

An Air India cabin, where London pharmacist Bhavikkumar Rajeshbhai Patel told a hearing his career meant so much he hid his 2023 conviction twice rather than disclose it.
An Air India cabin, where London pharmacist Bhavikkumar Rajeshbhai Patel told a hearing his career meant so much he hid his 2023 conviction twice rather than disclose it.

London pharmacist Bhavikkumar Rajeshbhai Patel has been suspended for six months for masturbating in front of two cabin crew and a passenger on an Air India flight to Heathrow in 2023, and then lying to hide it. Held at the back of the plane on landing, he said he was doing it 'to serve the nation'.

Patel admitted he would likely never have disclosed the conviction had the DBS check not forced it.

'My career means a lot to me,' Patel told the hearing, explaining why he stayed silent twice.

Mitigation included nearly nine unblemished years, genuine remorse, quitting alcohol and his employer keeping him on.

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