Vijay Mallya cornered; 15 Kingfisher planes deregistered

New Delhi, March 26: In a major setback for

, India's aviation regulator -

on Tuesday, March 26 de-registered 15

aircraft.

Showing his concern for the dues of Kingfisher airline to tax authorities, airport operators annd other vendors, Arun Mishra, the Director General Civil Aviation gave the official statement regarding the de-registration.

Earlier several aircraft of the grounded airline owned by Mr Mallya were seized by airport operators, especially by Airport Authorities of India (AAI). The operators had threatened not to release the aircraft untill Kingfisher clears their dues.

"The lessors have to pay parking charges from the day of the de-registration of the aircraft. After that they can take back the planes," said Mr Mishra while addressing the media.

Recently, Kingfisher employees, who have not been paid their salaries from last ten months, urged the government to prosecute Mr Mallya. A group of employees also threatened to disrupt IPL matches in Bangalore if the government does not take any action against the Mallyas.

The Mallyas own IPL team - Royal Bangalore Challengers. The IPL tournament will be kicked off on April 3, 2013. The protesting employees urged RCB players to boycott Mallya's team.

They have also asked the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) not to allow RCB to participate in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL).

The employees asked the government to amend labour laws making non-payment of salaries a criminal offence and said, "the Supreme Court should take suo motu cognizance of our matter in specific and in general for overall reforms required for the benefit of working class."

OneIndia News