Longest hijack in Indian aviation history by Khalistan activists meets anti-climactic end

Passengers finally leave the hijacked aircraftFor Indian Airlines flight purser, D.K. Mehta, there was a macabre similarity in the situation. Barely six weeks ago, he had been on board the airliner hijacked by Khalistan activists to Lahore. Now, having just served breakfast to the 79 passengers on board the Boeing 737 bound for Jammu, he once again watched helplessly as kirpan-wielding Sikhs rushed down the aisle shouting pro-Khalistan slogans.This time, however, there was a noticeable difference. Though the seven hijackers were similar to the earlier ones in age, appearance and ideology, they exuded far more confidence and determination. "This time, I knew they meant business," recalls Captain V.K. Mehta, the pilot of the aircraft.That was all too evident in the fact that the hijack turned out to be the longest and the most nerve-racking of any of the nine previous hijacks involving Indian Airlines aircraft. When the hijackers, all in their teens or early '20s, stormed into the cockpit and took over the aircraft, it was 7.30 a.m. on Friday, August 24. By the time the drama ended at Dubai airport, 36 tension-packed hours had passed while the plane kept shuttling between Lahore, Karachi and finally Dubai.A.A. Rahim with Ambassador Ishrat Aziz and Dubai Police Chief Colonel Dahi Khalfan TamimDubai, obviously, was not the destination the hijackers had in mind. Shortly after taking over the cockpit, they first demanded that the plane circle over Amritsar's Golden Temple. After two circles over the temple, they ordered the captain to take them to Lahore. At Lahore airport, they made it clear that their final destination was the US.Till then, the only weapons they had displayed apart from their kirpans, were the long needles Sikhs use to adjust their turbans and fire axes and fire extinguishers picked up from the aircraft. Like the previous hijack, the Pakistani authorities first refused permission to land and blocked the runway. For the next 80 minutes the aircraft hovered over Lahore. Finally, at 9.50 a.m. with fuel running dangerously low, Lahore airport radioed permission to land.Pakistan was obviously interested in getting rid of the aircraft as quickly as possible. They flatly refused to comply with the hijackers' demands. The hijackers also obviously had no planned strategy in mind. On being told that the Boeing was not capable of flying to the US, they went into a huddle with Pakistani officials, poring over maps and discussing possible destinations. By 3 p.m. the aircraft had been cleared and was taxiing down the runway much to the chagrin of Indian envoy K.D. Sharma who had flown in from Islamabad. Later, it transpired that Mrs Gandhi had personally requested Pakistan President General Zia-ul-Haq not to allow the plane to leave Lahore, a request that was seemingly denied. Says Sharma: "I reached Lahore and before I knew it, the plane was taking off. I did not want the plane to leave the airfield. Pakistan could have stormed the plane with commandos." At that stage, with the hijackers nervous and relatively lightly armed, a commando operation could have been conducted with little risk.A hijacker escorts Subrahmanyam to an ambulanceBut that was also the possibility uppermost in the minds of the hijackers, one of whom told a crew member that they would like to leave as soon as they could. At 7 p.m. one of them suddenly produced a revolver and pointing it at Captain Mehta, ordered him to take off. The revolver, as it turned out later, was to lead to yet another round of diplomatic wrangling between the two countries as all the passengers and crew members on board insist that before Lahore, the hijackers carried no lethal weapons at all.Said Mehta: "It came as a great surprise for us to suddenly see a weapon surfacing after we left Lahore." Two British nationals on board the ill-fated flight, Mr and Mrs Dominic Barkley, say that they saw the Pakistani authorities hand over a parcel to the hijackers and it was from the same parcel that the revolver was produced. Said Barkley: "I saw one of the hijackers get down from the aircraft at Lahore and collect a paper-wrapped packet. He came aboard soon after and pulled out a pistol from the packet."But back on board, the revolver and the stop-over at Lahore had given the hijackers renewed confidence. At first, they told Mehta to fly them to Bahrain but he refused on the grounds that flying conditions were not favourable. Instead, he flew the aircraft to Karachi where, after an hour's wait, they took off again for Dubai under instructions from the hijackers.For the passengers, the reality of their situation only hit them at Dubai. For over an hour, United Arab Emirates (UAE) authorities refused permission to land and switched off the airport landing lights as well as the radio beacon. Mehta repeatedly begged the Dubai officials "in the name of Allah" to let them land as the aircraft was running out of fuel, but the officials remained unmoved. Just after 6 a.m. air hostess Rita Singh came over the public address system and in a calm, impersonal voice announced that the aircraft was probably going to ditch in the sea if landing permission was not granted. She then instructed the passengers on the procedures they should adopt for getting out of the aircraft after it hit the water and for keeping afloat. Strangely, there was no panic. Perhaps the cool-headedness of the air hostess in making the announcement sound like a routine everyday one and her insistence that there was no danger if they kept their heads, ensured that there was no panic among the passengers. Instead, under her calm guidance, they moved to the first 15 rows of seats and started removing their shoes and any pointed objects. Even the hijackers obediently did as she instructed and behaved like the other passengers.In the cockpit, Captain Mehta made one last desperate attempt. "Please, please", he pleaded, "we have no alternative but to ditch." At 4.50 a.m. local time, Mehta saw what must have been the most welcome sight in his life - the lights of Dubai airport flashing on as permission to land was finally given. "God bless you, God bless your country," shouted a relieved Mehta into the radio and at 4.55 a.m. IC 421 touched down. The aircraft had fuel for just five minutes.A.A. Rahim with passengers at Dubai after their releaseBut the relief was short-lived as it only heralded the start of another 14-hour ordeal as the tense negotiations with UAE authorities began while the aircraft stood parked in the scorching heat. Unlike the reception at Lahore and Karachi, the UAE Government extended all possible help to the Indian government even allowing another Indian Airlines aircraft that had been following IC 421 from Karachi to land and park where they could observe the scene and also monitor the conversation between the cockpit and the control tower.Says Indian Ambassador to the UAE, Ishrat Aziz: "We received the fullest cooperation from the UAE Government and were kept fully in the picture right through." Much of the eventual credit will go to UAE Defence Minister, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who flew back to Dubai from Europe in his private aircraft to personally handle the situation, something he did with enviable aplomb and tact. The sequence of events at Dubai:8. a.m: Negotiations begin immediately after Sheikh Rashid reaches the control tower. Initial talks are conducted over the aircraft's communication system.10.05 a.m: A white Mercedes drives up to the aircraft and returns with one of the hijackers.11.25 a.m: One of the remaining hijackers gets down from the plane and takes a leisurely stroll on the tarmac.11.40 a.m: A white pick-up drives up to the aircraft with food and water but the hijackers turn it back.12.35 p.m: Two ambulances race up-to the aircraft and one of the hijackers comes down the steps with K. Subrahmanyam, director of the Delhi-based Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis. Subrahmanyam is a diabetic and urgently required insulin injections.1.05 p.m: The hijacker and Subrahmanyam return to the aircraft.1.45 p.m: Hijackers agree to take on food and drink for the passengers.2.30 p.m: Subrahmanyam is summoned to the cockpit and told by the hijackers that they are running out of time and to put pressure on the authorities they have decided to kill one passenger every half an hour. He, they say, has been chosen to be the first. Subrahmanyam is ordered to convey that message to the negotiators over the radio.4.00 p.m: Two hijackers are escorted to the control tower for negotiations.5.30 p.m: Hijackers in the aircraft get jittery and threaten to blow up the aircraft within the next 10 minutes if their colleagues are not sent back.5.55 p.m: Hijackers return from the control tower for consultations with the others.6.20 p.m: The two hijackers return to the control tower to continue negotiations and come back after 10 minutes.6.50 p.m: Two Dubai National Airlines Transport Authority passenger coaches drive out to the aircraft and rumours that the passengers are to be released start circulating.7 p.m: All the passengers and crew alight from the aircraft and enter the coaches and are taken to the transit lounge. Hijackers whisked away in a white van to an unknown destination.With obvious relief, Dubai Chief of Police Colonel Dahi Khalfan Tamim announced to the press that the hijackers had been put under protective custody and that they had surrendered unconditionally. UAE authorities confirmed that the main demand of the hijackers was political asylum in the US. The US Consul General in Dubai, David Stockwell, reached the airport during the negotiations but later announced that "Our position is very clear. If they go to the US, they will be arrested."Indian Minister of State for External Affairs A.A. Rahim who was in Dubai en route to Qatar but stayed back confirmed that "the main interest of the hijackers was to go to the US". At one point in the negotiations, the hijackers wanted to be flown to London and the authorities had actually begun making plans for a refueling stop in Istanbul.Dubai authorities refused to comment on the fate of the hijackers but discussions were still going on after the drama had ended between UAE, Indian and US officials and there appear to be only two possible alternatives; extradition of the hijackers to India or punishment under UAE law for air piracy.But, whatever their fate, the incident cannot but cause intense concern in New Delhi. Chandigarh security officials insist that no weapons went past their checks. Security agencies tracing the antecedents of the hijackers say that their initial investigations indicate that three of the hijackers could have been involved in the conspiracy that led to the earlier hijack six weeks ago. They have identified them as Avtar Singh, Sharabjeet Singh and Atminder Singh, all residents of Jammu. A search of Atminder Singh's house produced a .32 revolver and ammunition. All the hijackers are believed to be members of the outlawed All India Sikh Students Federation. But as in the case of the previous hijack to Lahore, the hijackers were obvious amateurs seemingly only interested in publicising their cause.In a repeat of the Lahore incident, the hijackers suddenly appeared to run out of steam and meekly gave in. In Dubai, there was considerable confusion when the negotiators finally convinced the hijackers to release the passengers and crew. Some passengers had overheard the conversation and immediately got up from their seats and started for the exit doors. A few of the hijackers, however, were against the release and made a half-hearted attempt to stop the passengers from leaving the aircraft. But their efforts lacked conviction and the passengers merely pushed their way out and the longest hijack in Indian aviation history came to another anti-climactic end.Published By: AtMigration Published On: Sep 15, 1984 00:00 IST--- ENDS ---

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Longest hijack in Indian aviation history by Khalistan activists meets anti-climactic end

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