After a long time, an attempt was made to hijack a plane in the Middle East. On October 1, a pilot of Omani origin tried to hijack flydubai flight FZ1073, which was going from Dubai to Israel's capital Tel Aviv. A major accident was averted due to the wisdom and bravery of Indian pilot Smit Machar.
In the 70s and 80s, Israel had to face a lot of plane hijacking incidents. From 1970 to 1999, India also witnessed many flight hijackings. Most of the hijacked planes were taken to Pakistan. The hijacking of IC-814 is one of the biggest incidents in Indian history. Today's story is about those incidents of plane hijacking, which India had to face in the past.
Flight Ganga: On January 30, 1971, after taking off from Srinagar airport, Indian Airlines plane 'Ganga' was hijacked by Hashim Qureshi and his cousin Ashraf Qureshi. Earlier the plan was to take the plane to Rawalpindi. Due to low oil, the plane landed at Lahore Airport at 1:05 pm. Both the kidnappers carried out the entire incident with a wooden pistol and a hand grenade made of soap. The plane was to go from Srinagar to Jammu. There were 26 passengers and four crew members on board the aircraft.
In exchange for the release of the passengers, the accused demanded the release of 30 National Liberation Front prisoners. The Indian government refused to accept the demand. All passengers and crew were later released by the Government of Pakistan. The plane was set on fire by ISI agents at the airport itself.
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Before hijacking the plane, Hashim Qureshi had gone to Peshawar, Pakistan in 1969. Here he met separatist leader Maqbool Bhat. Hashim had joined the National Liberation Front at the behest of Bhat.
When Hashim hijacked an Indian plane and reached Pakistan, he was welcomed there as a hero. Opposition leader Zulfikar Ali Bhutto himself reached the airport. In 1981, journalist BM Sinha's book 'Samba Spying Case' claimed that Hashim Qureshi was an Indian Intelligence Agency agent. Later the Pakistani court sentenced Hashim Qureshi to 13 years imprisonment. However, he was released only after 7 years. His cousin Altaf Qureshi became a professor of Kashmir studies at the University of Lahore.
Flight IC 427: Indian Airlines flight IC-427 going from Delhi to Srinagar was hijacked on 24 April 1993. Mohammed Yusuf Shah arrived with his leg plastered. He pretended to be hurt. The weapon was hidden in the plaster itself. He hijacked the plane after take-off. He demanded to divert the plane to Afghanistan. Pakistan refused to allow the aircraft to enter its airspace. The result was that the plane had to land in Amritsar itself.
India had a long conversation with the kidnapper. On the other hand, preparations were made for commando operation. An NSG team was deployed around the plane in the dark of night. A day later, on 25 April, the Government of India approved the operation. NSG commandos entered the emergency and other gates of the plane. He was killed before the kidnapper could retaliate. In just 5 minutes, Indian security forces safely rescued 141 passengers including the crew.
Indian Airlines Boeing 737: On September 10, 1976, an Indian Airlines Boeing 737 aircraft going from Delhi to Mumbai was hijacked. The plane was forcibly landed at Lahore airport instead of Mumbai. Six Kashmiri terrorists carried out the kidnapping. Pakistan rescued 82 passengers and crew and arrested all the hijackers. However later he too was released. This time Pakistan had helped India. He had given drugs to the kidnappers during breakfast. Everyone was controlled after becoming unconscious. The next day, when all the passengers returned safely, they were given a warm welcome in India.
Flight IC- 414: On 20 December 1978, Indian Airlines flight IC 414 going from Lucknow to Delhi was hijacked. There were 130 passengers on board the plane. He was dropped at Varanasi airport. Devendra Pandey and Bholanath Pandey, residents of UP, had hijacked the plane with the help of a toy pistol.
They had three demands
- Indira Gandhi should be released.
- The cases registered against Sanjay and Indira should be closed.
- The Janata Party government at the Center should resign.
The government did not accept the demands of the two kidnappers. Both were arrested. Later, both of them got reward when Indira Gandhi was released from jail. As soon as the MLA got the ticket, both the kidnappers also reached the UP Assembly.
Flight IC-423: On 29 September 1981, Indian Airlines aircraft IC-423 took off from Palam Airport, Delhi. The flight was to go to Srinagar. There were 111 passengers and six crew members on board the aircraft. The kidnapping was carried out by five Khalistan supporters.
After landing at Lahore airport, Pakistan conducted a commando operation and arrested the hijackers Gajinder Singh, Tejinder Singh, Satnam Singh, Dalbir Singh and Karan Singh. All were sentenced to 14 years.
Tejinder Pal Singh and Satnam Singh came to India in 1997. Karan Singh and Dalbir Singh got asylum in Switzerland. Gajinder Singh breathed his last in Lahore, Pakistan in the year 2024. The accused used guava wrapped in newspaper as a grenade in the kidnapping. Four more planes were hijacked from 1981 to 1984. All the planes were supported by the then General Zia government of Pakistan.
Air India Flight 224: Hired armed men hijacked Air India Flight 224 in 1981. This plane was coming to Mumbai from Zambia. There were 13 crew members and 65 passengers on board the aircraft. The aircraft landed at Mahe Airport in Seychelles for refueling.
About 47 terrorists from Africa entered Mahe airport. When the encounter started with the security forces, these terrorists captured the Air India plane. Armed terrorists put pressure on pilot Umesh Saxena to take the plane to Durban, South Africa. However Umesh refused to do so. After this, the Government of Seychelles negotiated with the terrorists for about 6 hours and the safe return of all the passengers was ensured. This was the first hijacking of an Indian plane on foreign soil.
Delhi-Srinagar flight: On August 5, 1982, pro-Khalistan militants hijacked an Indian Airlines flight from Delhi to Srinagar with a fake bomb. The plane was diverted to Pakistan, but Pakistan did not allow it to land in Lahore. Later the plane landed in Amritsar.
After negotiations the kidnapper surrendered. The entire kidnapping lasted for four hours. The plane was landed at Rajasansi Airport in Amritsar. Kidnapper Gurbaksh Singh Majithia had demanded a meeting with Akali leader Harchand Singh Longowal and militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. There were three children and 126 passengers on board the plane.
Jodhpur flight: On 20 August 1982, another Indian Airlines plane was hijacked. The plane took off from Jodhpur airport in Rajasthan. He was to land at Palam Airport in Delhi. Manjeet Singh, who hijacked the plane with the help of pistol and hand grenade, forced the plane to divert towards Pakistan.
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Like before, this time too Pakistan did not give permission for the plane to land. The plane landed at Rajasansi Airport in Amritsar. Three hours later, Manjeet released a female passenger and her child. Due to extreme heat inside the plane, its doors were opened. After some time Manjeet came out. He fired in the air. Then the security forces present there killed him.
Flight IC-405:In the year 1984, two incidents of plane hijacking shocked India. The first incident is of July 5, 1984. Indian Airlines flight IC-405 going from Srinagar to Delhi was hijacked by 9 terrorists. The plane landed in Lahore. After negotiations that lasted for about 20 hours, all the kidnappers surrendered before Pakistani security forces. All passengers returned to India safely.
When ISI helped the kidnappers
On August 24, 1984, another aircraft was hijacked. This time Indian Airlines flight IC- 421 was going from Delhi to Srinagar. Pro-Khalistan militants hijacked the plane with fake weapons. After the plane landed in Lahore, Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI gave real weapons to the hijackers. After this the plane was taken to Dubai. The seven terrorists who hijacked the plane had boarded the plane from Chandigarh Airport.
After Lahore, the plane filled fuel in Karachi and headed towards Dubai. The UAE administration did not give permission for the plane to land. There was only 5 minutes of fuel left in the plane. Permission was granted later. The governments of India and UAE talked to the kidnappers for about 14 hours. All the passengers were rescued safely. Later all the kidnappers were handed over to India.
Other popular hijackings
- Flight IC-810 was hijacked on January 22, 1993. The plane was going from Lucknow to Delhi. He was landed back in Lucknow. The kidnappers demanded the release of the kar sevaks arrested on charges of demolition of Babri Masjid. However later he had to surrender.
- On March 27, 1993, a person hijacked another flight. He insisted on taking the plane to Lahore. However, Pakistan did not approve the landing. Later the plane landed in Amritsar. The accused surrendered. No explosives were found with him. Investigation revealed that he had carried out the kidnapping with a hair dryer.
- Four students hijacked a plane going from Lucknow to Delhi. Later all the students were controlled. This incident is of 10 April 1993. 14 days later, i.e. on 24 April 1993, IC-427 flight from Delhi to Srinagar was hijacked. The plane landed in Amritsar after Pakistan refused to land. The security forces overpowered the accused and rescued all the passengers safely.
IC-814 Kandahar Hijacking: On December 24, 1999, Indian Airlines flight IC-814 coming from Nepal's capital Kathmandu to Delhi was hijacked by five terrorists. There were 176 passengers including 15 crew members on board the plane.
The plane was first taken to Lahore. When landing permission was not given, it was landed in Amritsar. Within some time, the hijackers forced the plane to be taken back to Lahore. This time permission for landing was granted. After this the plane turned towards Kabul. There was no facility to land here at night. The flight was taken to Dubai and landed at the airbase. After the intervention of UAE, the terrorists released 27 women and children.
The terrorists had killed passenger Rupin Katyal with a knife. His body was also landed in Dubai. The crisis lasted for about eight days and ultimately the Indian government had to compromise with the terrorists for the safe return of the passengers. The plane landed at Kandahar Airport on 25 December. On December 31, all the passengers were released in exchange for three terrorists. The aircraft also returned to India on 1 January 2000.
India had to leave them
- Masood Azhar
- Ahmed Omar Saeed Shaikh
- Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar