On the eve of Christmas in 1999, a chilling event shook the nation when Indian Airlines Flight 814 (IC 814) was hijacked by militants associated with Harkat-ul-Mujahideen. The Indian government was forced into a corner and had to agree to the terrorists' demands of releasing their imprisoned comrades. This incident had far-reaching consequences that are still felt today.
This article aims to provide an in-depth look at the IC 814 hijacking, a crucial topic for the
IAS Exam.
Timeline of the Indian Airlines Flight 814 Hijacking
The flight was en route from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal to Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi.
The flight, an Indian Airlines Airbus A300, was carrying 176 passengers and 15 crew members.
Captain Devi Sharan was the pilot of the flight, and the chief flight attendant was Anil Sharma.
The hijacking began around 5:30 PM, just as the flight entered Indian airspace. The hijackers demanded the pilot to divert the plane over Lucknow and then Lahore.
Due to insufficient fuel, the plane was forced to land at Amritsar for refuelling. However, due to miscommunication and indecision among the authorities, the plane took off without refuelling.
The flight had to make an emergency landing at Lahore, Pakistan due to low fuel levels. After refuelling, the flight took off from Lahore at 10:32 PM.
The flight then landed at the Al Minhad Air Base in Dubai. Here, 27 passengers were released.
The final stop was Kandahar in Afghanistan, which was under the control of the
Taliban
at the time.
After a series of negotiations, the Indian government agreed to release three militants in exchange for the hostages.
The hostages were finally released after the three militants were handed over to the hijackers.
The Aftermath of the IC 814 Hijacking
The hijackers killed one passenger, Rupan Katyal, who was only 25 years old.
The released militant Maulana Masood Azhar founded the Jaish-e-Muhammed in 2000 and was involved in the 2001 attack on the Indian Parliament.
Another released militant, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, was later involved in the abduction and execution of American journalist Daniel Pearl.
The third released militant, Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar, has been training militants in POK since his release.
The hijacking of IC 814 served as a painful lesson for India in crisis management, hostage situations, and airport security.
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What was the political aftermath of the IC 814 hijacking?
The incident is seen as a failure of the 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.
What was the pupose behind the IC814 hikacking?
The motive for the hijacking apparently was 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 terrrorists – Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, and Masood Azhar.