Indian Airlines Flight 814

Indian Airlines Flight 814, commonly known as IC 814, was an Indian Airlines Airbus A300 en route from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal to Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, India on Friday, 24 December 1999, when it was hijacked and flown to several locations before landing in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Harkat-ul-Mujahideen was accused of the hijacking with the support and active assistance from ISI.[1][2][3]

Indian Airlines Flight 814
Taliban militia in front of the hijacked plane.
Hijacking
Date24 December 1999 – 31 December 1999
SiteHijacked in Indian airspace between Kathmandu, Nepal and Delhi, India; landed at Amritsar, India; Lahore, Pakistan; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; and Kandahar, Afghanistan.
Aircraft
Aircraft typeAirbus A300B2-101
OperatorIndian Airlines
RegistrationVT-EDW
Flight originTribhuvan International Airport
Kathmandu, Nepal
DestinationIndira Gandhi International Airport
Delhi, India
Passengers176 (including 5 hijackers)
Crew15
Fatalities1
Injuries17
Survivors190

The aircraft was piloted by 37-year-old Captain Devi Sharan and first officer Rajinder Kumar, with 58-year-old Flight Engineer Anil Kumar Jaggia. The Airbus was hijacked by 5 masked gunmen shortly after it entered Indian airspace at about 17:30 IST. Hijackers ordered the aircraft to be flown to several locations. After touching down in Amritsar, Lahore, and Dubai, the hijackers finally forced the aircraft to land in Kandahar, Afghanistan, which at the time was controlled by the Taliban. The hijackers released 27 of 176 passengers in Dubai but fatally stabbed one and wounded several others.

At that time, most of Afghanistan, including Kandahar airport where the hijacked plane landed, was under Taliban control. Initially it was thought that Taliban was on the Indian side but later it became apparent that they are working in collaboration with ISI. Taliban militiamen fighters encircled the aircraft to prevent any Indian military intervention,[4][5] which was found by current National Security Advisor Ajit Doval when he landed there and they also found two ISI men were on the apron and others soon joined them in which one was a lieutenant colonel and the other a major. Doval said that if the Taliban hijackers did not have ISI support, India could have resolved the crisis.[3]

The motive for the hijacking appears to have been to secure the release of Islamist figures held in prison in India. The hostage crisis lasted for seven days and ended after India agreed to release three militants – Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, and Mulana Masood Azhar. These militants have since been implicated in other terrorist actions, such as the 2002 kidnapping and murder of Daniel Pearl, 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.[6] The hijacking has been seen as one of the millennium attack plots in late December 1999 and early January 2000 by al-Qaeda-linked jihadists.[7][8][9]

Hijacking

Flying over Lucknow, Flight purser Anil Sharma, the chief flight attendant on IC-814, had just finished serving tea to the pilots and came out of the cockpit. Instantly, he was confronted by a stocky man wearing a grey suit and a monkey cap (ski mask). The man pointed a copper-coloured pistol at Sharma's chest; his other hand held a grenade. In an interview, Sharma later recalled that the masked, bespectacled man threatened to detonate the aircraft with a bomb. After angrily storming the cockpit, the chief hijacker pointed his pistol at the captain's head, coercing the pilots to "fly west".[10] Four other men wearing red masks then stood up and took positions throughout the aircraft. The hijackers wanted Captain Sharan to divert the aircraft over Lucknow and head towards Lahore. However, due to insufficient fuel, Sharan said he did not have enough fuel to make the journey but the chief hijacker angrily ignored him and did not believe him, threatening to blow up the plane if they did not land in Lahore, even though Pakistani ATC refused to grant them landing permission, even threatening to shoot down the plane with a surface-to-air missile. Only after repeated, desperate pleas from the Captain begging on his knees did the hijackers begrudgingly allow the plane to land in Amritsar, India, just to refuel. At 6pm IST, the plane was allowed to fly to Amritsar.[10]

Landing in Amritsar, India

After landing at Amritsar airport at 7 p.m., the pilots requested immediate refuelling for the aircraft. Secretly, the Captain did not want to fly elsewhere, hoping that the refuelling truck refuelling the plane would distract the hijackers from Indian security and police forces storming IC 814 to free the passengers and crew. The aircraft stood there for more than 45 minutes but no credible efforts were made to rescue the passengers and instead confusion was spread.[11] However, the Crisis Management Group in Delhi directed Amritsar Airport authorities to ensure that the plane was immobilised. The armed personnel of the Punjab police were already in position to try and do this. They did not receive approval from New Delhi. Eventually, a fuel tanker was dispatched and instructed to block the approach of the aircraft. As the tanker sped towards the aircraft, air traffic control radioed the pilot to slow down, and the tanker immediately came to a stop. This sudden stop aroused the hijackers' suspicion and they forced the aircraft to take off immediately, without clearance from air traffic control. The aircraft missed the tanker by only a few feet.[12]

Later, it was revealed that there were efforts by ex-RAW chief AS Dulat and others to cover up the real motives of why the plane was not immobilised and why there were no commando-operation to neutralise the threat. The RAW officer named Shashi Bhushan Singh Tomar, husband of Sonia Tomar, was boarded on the plane, who was a brother-in-law of N K Singh, secretary to then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and he ensured that the plane would be let off and no commando operation would be carried out to ensure his brother-in-law's safety.[13] According to RAW officer, R K Yadav, author of Mission R&AW, days before the hijacking, UV Singh, another RAW operative in Kathmandu informed Tomar that Pakistani terrorists were planning to hijack an Indian plane and he ordered Singh to check the veracity of his report where Singh vouched for its reliability but Tomar rebuked him and told him not to spread rumours. Later, Tomar was found on the same plane which was hijacked and became the cause of failure of the operation.[13] The then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was kept in the dark until around 7:00 pm, a full hour and 40 minutes since the hijacking of IC 814 and he came to know about the hijacking only after disembarking from the aircraft in the VIP bay of Palam Technical Area.[11]

Landing in Lahore, Pakistan

Due to a dangerously low fuel level, the pilots requested an emergency landing in Lahore, Pakistan. The Pakistani authorities, including Lahore ATC refused the captain's request for an emergency landing, shutting down all of their airport lights at Lahore Airport, closing its airspace completely. They switched off all navigational aids, runway lights, emergency lights and apron lights. With the aircraft dangerously low on fuel, crash-landing was the only option.[14] After the pilots nearly crash-landed on a busy highway, the Pakistani airport authorities, realising that the pilots were desperate, did not want it to crash on their soil. Lahore Airport reopened its airport lights and allowed the aircraft to land. India made two requests to Pakistan soon after the hijacked plane landed in Lahore; first to ensure the plane did not leave Lahore and second that Indian High Commissioner G. Parthasarathy in Islamabad be given a helicopter to reach Lahore as soon as possible, but the helicopter was provided when the hijacked airplane had already left Lahore, after Lahore airport officials refuelled the aircraft, got their commandos to surround the jetliner and the authorities allowed the plane to take off at 22:32 IST, before the helicopter carrying Indian ambassador G. Parthasarathy could reach the airport.[14] The plane was there for two and half hours and Pakistani officials rebuffed the pilot's request to offload some women and children, including injured passengers due to tense relations with India, wanting to get the aircraft refuelled and out of their territory at the earliest.[15] The senior Foreign Office officials were told by Pakistanis that there were reports from the pilot that the hijackers had killed passengers on board which were found to be false later.[14]

Landing in Dubai, UAE

The aircraft took off for Dubai where 27 passengers aboard the flight were released.[15] The hijackers also released a critically injured 25-year-old male hostage, Rupan Katyal, who was stabbed by the hijackers multiple times. Rupan had died before the aircraft landed in Al Minhad Air Base, in Dubai. Indian authorities wanted Indian commandos trained in hijack rescue to assault the aircraft but the UAE government refused permission.[16]

Landing in Kandahar, Afghanistan

After the aircraft landed in Kandahar, Taliban authorities offered to mediate between India and the hijackers, which India believed initially. Since India did not recognise the Taliban regime, it dispatched an official from its High Commission in Islamabad to Kandahar.[15] India's lack of previous contact with the Taliban regime complicated the negotiating process.[17][18]

However, the intention of the Taliban was under doubt after its armed fighters surrounded the aircraft.[19] The Taliban maintained that the forces were deployed in an attempt to dissuade the hijackers from killing or injuring the hostages but some analysts believe it was done to prevent an Indian military operation against the hijackers.[5][4] IB chief Ajit Doval claimed that the hijackers were getting active ISI support in Kandahar and that the ISI had removed all the pressure the Indians were trying to put on the hijackers and even that their safe exit was guaranteed, so they had no need to negotiate an escape route. Doval also mentioned that if the hijackers were not getting active ISI support in Kandahar then India could have resolved the hijacking.[3]

Negotiations

The Indian Government sent in a team of negotiators, headed by Vivek Katju, to discuss the demands of the hijackers, which included the release of:

Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, who had been imprisoned in connection with the 1994 Kidnappings of Western tourists in India, went on to murder Daniel Pearl and also allegedly played a significant role in planning the September 11 attacks in the United States.[25]

After the three militants landed in Kandahar, the hostages aboard the aircraft were freed. On 31 December 1999, the freed hostages of Indian Airlines Flight 814 were flown back through special plane.

Meanwhile, the Taliban had given the hijackers ten hours to leave Afghanistan. The five hijackers departed with a Taliban hostage to ensure their safe passage and were reported to have left Afghanistan.

Aftermath

Trial

The case was investigated by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which charged 10 people out of whom seven including the five hijackers were still absconding and are in Pakistan.[26] On 5 Feb 2008, a special anti-hijacking Patiala House Court sentenced all three accused, namely Abdul Latif, Yusuf Nepali and Dilip Kumar Bhujel, to life imprisonment. They were charged with helping the hijackers in procuring fake passports and taking weapons on board.[27] However, CBI moved Punjab and Haryana High Court demanding the death penalty (instead of life imprisonment) for Abdul Latif.[26] The case came up for regular hearing in high court in September 2012,[28] but the CBI's application was rejected. Also, Abdul Latif's application for parole was rejected in 2015.[29] On 13 September 2012, the Jammu and Kashmir Police arrested terror suspect Mehrajuddin Dand, who allegedly provided logistical support for the hijacking of IC-814 in 1999. He allegedly provided travel papers to the hijackers.[30]

On 10 July 2020, one of the accused, Abdul Latif Adam Momin, along with 18 other persons including an employee of the passport office, was acquitted by a Sessions Court in Mumbai of charges relating to the fabrication of passports in connection with the hijacking incident.[31]

The ill-fated hijacked aircraft became the largest piece of evidence involved in the subsequent criminal investigation from the Punjab courts, where the hijack case was being heard, who deemed that the aircraft was vital for investigation. The detectives got fingerprints of the hijackers from it. A model of the plane, complete with seat numbers, was created to be produced in court and a court official was trained to assemble it, as it was unwieldy.[32]

Political aftermath

The incident is seen as a failure of the BJP government under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and IB chief Ajit Doval said that India would have had a stronger negotiating hand if the aircraft had not been allowed to leave Indian territory.[33][34] Doval, the IB chief, who led the four-member negotiating team to Kandahar, described the whole incident as a "diplomatic failure" of the government in their inability to make the US and UAE use their influence to help secure a quick release of the passengers.[35]

Captain Devi Sharan (Commander of IC814) recounted the events in a book titled Flight into Fear – A Captain's Story (2000). The book was written in collaboration with journalist Srinjoy Chowdhury.

Flight Engineer Anil K. Jaggia also wrote a book specifically depicting the events that unfolded during the hijacking ordeal. His book is titled IC 814 Hijacked! The Inside Story. The book was written in collaboration with Saurabh Shukla.

The Flight Purser, Anil Sharma, has also written a detailed report of the hijack based on his experience in his book, IA's Terror Trail.

Returned to Indian Airlines in January 2000, the nearly 20-year-old Airbus aircraft was "retired" from flying (pulled out of flying operations) in early 2001, and remained at the Indian Airlines engineering base in Santa Cruz, Mumbai. Bought by Airbus in May 2002, the aircraft was then stored at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in March 2003. Three and a half years after the hijacking, the hijacked aircraft was later sold as scrap by Indian Airlines in May 2003, subsequently being broken up and scrapped in Mumbai in December 2003. The hull is believed to have fetched 22 lakh. The scrapping was handled via Metal Scrap Trading Corporation (MSTC).[36]

See also

Further reading
  • Misra, Neelesh (2000). 173 Hours in Captivity. HarperCollins. ISBN 8172233949.

References
  1. "India wanted to raid IC-814 in Dubai, but Farooq Abdullah opposed swap, says former RAW chief AS Dulat". The Indian Express. 3 July 2015.
  2. "Govt pressurised negotiators to end IC-814 hijacking by Dec 31: Doval". The Hindu. 1 January 2010.
  3. Dhawan, Himanshi (2017). "ISI backed Kandahar hijackers: Plane crisis negotiator Ajit Doval". The Economic Times.
  4. Hijacking and hostages By J. Paul de B. Taillon. Books.google.com. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  5. Gunaratna, Rohan. Inside Al Qaeda. Books.google.com. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  6. "Omar Sheikh sentenced to death in Pearl murder case". Rediff.com. 15 July 2007.
  7. "Other Millennium Attacks". PBS Frontline. 25 October 2001.
  8. Riedel, Bruce O. (2012). Deadly Embrace: Pakistan, America, and the Future of the Global Jihad. Brookings Institution Press. pp. 58–59. ISBN 9780815722748.
  9. Hiro, Dilip (2014). "War Without End: The Rise of Islamist Terrorism and Global Response". Routledge. pp. 287–288. ISBN 9781136485565.
  10. "How Govt lost the IC-814 hijack deal". 7 September 2006. Retrieved 7 September 2006.
  11. Mustafa, Seema (5 July 2015). "The Real Story: Kandahar Hijacking, Not A 'Goof Up' But A Major Cover Up". The Citizen.
  12. "Cover Story: Hijacking; ... in Amritsar, a speeding tanker causes panic". India-today.com. 10 January 2000. Archived from the original on 11 August 2010. Retrieved 8 June 2010.
  13. "Ex-RAW chief wasn't totally honest with us in his book: Here's what Dulat didn't tell us about IC-814 - Firstpost". www.firstpost.com.
  14. Baweja, Harinder (10 January 2000). "Pakistan Foreign Office called India to say they were outraged the plane had landed in Lahore". India Today.
  15. Dixit, Jyotindra Nath. India-Pakistan in war & peace. Books.google.com. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  16. "NSG came close to raid IC-814 in Dubai". The Times of India. 7 July 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  17. The greater game By David Van Praagh. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  18. Riedel, Bruce. "The Search for al-Qaeda", 2008
  19. Shah, Giriraj. Hijacking and Terror in Sky. Books.google.com. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  20. The Independent: Pakistan blamed by India for raid on parliament
  21. How we missed the story By Roy Gutman
  22. "Profile: Omar Saeed Sheikh". BBC News. 16 July 2002. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
  23. "Online NewsHour Update: Pakistan Convicts Four Men in Pearl Murder". PBS. 15 July 2002. Archived from the original on 9 March 2009.
  24. Mishra, Abhinandan (27 July 2008). "India's Response To Terrorism – Are We Losing The War?". desicritics.org. Desicritics. Archived from the original on 28 September 2008. Retrieved 4 August 2008.
  25. CNN Transcript "Suspected Mastermind of Pearl Killing Arrested". CNN. 7 February 2001. Retrieved 29 June 2006. 12 February 2002.
  26. "CBI seeks death penalty for IC-814 hijack accused". Outlook India. 2 October 2008. Archived from the original on 3 June 2013. Retrieved 28 June 2012.
  27. "Patiala court gives life imprisonment to IC-814 hijacking convicts". Oneindia. 5 February 2008. Retrieved 28 June 2012.
  28. "Over 3 years in cold storage, case to come up for hearing in September". The Indian Express. 1 June 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2012.
  29. "High Court denies parole to Kandahar hijacker". Hindustan Times. 2 July 2015.
  30. "IC-814 hijack: Key conspirator Mehrajuddin Dand arrested in Kishtwar district – India – IBNLive". Ibnlive.in.com. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
  31. "Court acquits 19 accused in case linked to Kandahar hijack". The Indian Express. 11 July 2020. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  32. Vishnoi, Anubhuti; Vishnoi, Anubhuti (12 February 2008). "Four years after IC-814 hijack, plane was sold as scrap - Indian Express". The Indian Express. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  33. "16 Years On, Mystery of RAW Officer on Hijacked IC-814 Remains". The Quint. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
  34. Iqbal, Aadil Ikram Zaki (24 December 2015). "Kandahar Hijack: Revisit story of five terrorists bringing India on its knees". India.com. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
  35. "IC-814 was India's 'Diplomatic Failure': Doval". Outlook. 24 December 2009.
  36. "VT-EDW Indian Airlines Airbus A300B2". www.planespotters.net. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
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