Kathmandu, Jan. 27: The government today said action will be taken against 18 officials on duty at the Tribhuvan International Airport on December 24, when an Indian Airlines plane was hijacked about an hour after take off from Kathmandu.
Strong departmental action will be taken against the officials as per the recommendations of a high level committee that investigated the hijacking which ended on December 31, Minister for Civil Aviation Bijaya Gachhadar said. “Three of them are the department chiefs, whose alertness could have avoided the hijacking.”
The officials include airport General Manager Medini Prasad Sharma, airport police chief Binod Singh and a deputy superintendent of police, Gachhadar said today as he released part of the contents of the 63-page report which was submitted to the government on Monday (Jan 24). He said the action could mean suspension or sacking from their job or trying them on criminal charges.
Gachhadar said the report completely ruled out the involvement of any Nepalese in the hijacking of the Indian passenger plane just as it entered the Indian aerospace 40 minutes after take-off from Kathmandu. The ordeal came to its end on December when the Indian government released three Kashmiri militants in exchange of over 160 passengers and crew on board.
The report also holds Indian Airlines officials on duty on that day could also be responsible for the hijacking, in which an Indian was killed for disobeying the orders of the hijackers.
The report confirms that the hijackers were A. A. Sheikh, S. A. Qazi, Zahar Ibrahim Mistry, Sayeed Shahid Akhtar and Rajesh Gopal Verma, whose identity remains yet to be confirmed. “The embarkation cards of all five, however, suggest they were Indian citizens.”
The report, he said, has suggested both short term and long-term measures to avoid any such a tragedy in the future. The government will start implementing the immediate measures as soon as possible, he said.
Under short term steps, the Minister said, x-ray machines and metal detectors would be replaced with the new ones and the passengersí movement around transit lounged would be regulated through pass system.
The report also makes a passing comment on the long stretch of open border Nepal shares with India. The border also allows free movements of criminals, it says.
The investigators maintained that the hijackers had passed through the normal channel, but were unsure of how the weapons got on board the plane.
“The government also needs to beef up security arrangements at the international airport.”
The Indian Airlines flights remain suspended over “security lapse” at the Kathmandu airport following the hijacking even as all other international flights are in operation.