Court upholds life term for 1993 plane hijacker

March 29th, 2011 - 8:52 pm ICT by IANS  

New Delhi, March 29 (IANS) The Delhi High Court Tuesday upheld the order of a trial court awarding a life sentence to a man who posed as a human bomb and hijacked a Chennai-bound Indian Airlines flight in 1993.

Hari Singh had hijacked the plane, which took off from Delhi, March 27, 1993. He was out on bail since 2003 and would now have to surrender by April 20.

A division bench of Justice S. Ravindra Bhat and Justice G.P. Mittal said: “This court finds no infirmity with the approach or finding of the trial court, the conviction of Hari Singh has to be sustained.”

“The appeal consequently fails and is dismissed,” said the court adding that the appellant (Hari Singh) has to now surrender before the concerned court April 20.

A Delhi court in August 2001 awarded Singh a life term under the anti-hijacking law, rigorous imprisonment of two years for obstructing the crew, rigorous imprisonment of seven years for kidnapping the passengers along with crew and rigorous imprisonment of seven years for threatening to kill them.

The court also asked him to pay a fine Rs.500 on three counts.

He hijacked the Chennai-bound flight and wanted to take it to Lahore in Pakistan but surrendered at Punjab’s border city of Amritsar after being persuaded by former state police chief K.P.S Gill.

The flight took off from Delhi airport at 6.30 a.m. and when it was about 100 km from Hyderabad, Singh asked the crew to take it to Lahore. But the plane was forced to land in Amritsar when it ran out of fuel.

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