Security personnel flummoxed
From Ashok Sethi

RAJASANSI (Amritsar), Dec 25 — The hijacking of an Indian Airlines Airbus (Flight 814) yesterday was the fifth that Rajasansi airport has witnessed in the past 15 years.

Recounting the sequence of events, official sources said the local Air Traffic Controller received signal around 5.45 pm from Delhi that an Indian Airlines flight had been hijacked and taken to Lahore. The airport here was asked to ready itself for any eventuality. Soon after, the communication to and from Delhi became intense and the panic button was pressed as the Lahore airport declined permission to the plane to land there. The pilot of the hijacked plane sought permission to land from the airport authorities here, while informing that he had only 45 minutes’ fuel. Within minutes at 7 pm, the plane descended at Rajasansi, taking officers monitoring the tower by surprise.

A senior airport officer, preferring anonymity, told The Tribune today that as the plane approached the runway, the pilot began pressing for refuelling as officers under instructions from senior functionaries of the Civil Aviation tried to engage the hijackers in a dialogue.The pilot, through a coded message communicated that there were five hijackers on board armed with AK-47 rifles, revolvers and grenades. Their sole demand was immediate refuelling of the plane. The pilot was unable to disclose their identities. All this happened as the plane came to a halt at one end of the parking amidst low visibility.

The authorities asked the pilot to switch off the engines to facilitate refuelling by the airport Indian Oil Corporation staff. But the pilot urged that this should be done in haste as a passenger had been killed and then added that two or more had been shot.

The conversation and refuelling took about 35 minutes. The hijackers, according to police officers, seemed highly motivated and ruthless. They directed the pilot to keep the engines on while taking the aircraft to a place from where they could have a good view of the happenings outside. The Air Traffic Controller heard one of them say: “do not indulge in ustadi (mischief)”

As the authorities insisted that refuelling could be undertaken only after all engines were shut off, the plane with 189 on board was airborne, leaving the large force of security personnel flummoxed who were yet to finalise a contingency plan under instructions from Delhi.

As the plane headed towards west, the Air Force signal unit confirmed that it was on its way to Lahore — about 8 to 10 minutes crow flight from Amritsar.

The I G, Border Range, Mr J P Birdi, said they had little chance to abort the hijacking as Delhi was monitoring the situation. He said their brief was only to engage the hijackers in a conversation, to establish their identity and know their demands. Since the plane was running out of fuel, they could not attempt to block the runway, especially in view of the reported killings by the pilot.

The I G claimed the commandos positioned at the tarmac did not hear any shot being fired but the Air Controller said it was impossible for anyone to hear anything from that distance.

Mr Birdi said the hijacking was well-planned and the Nepali capital had become a major centre of militant activities. He said the government must prepare an action plan to curb anti-India activities being planned and executed in Kathmandu.