India to contact Bangladesh over IC-814 hijack plotter
March 2nd, 2010 - 9:38 pm ICT by IANS
New Delhi, March 2 (IANS) India Tuesday said it will get in touch with Bangladesh after confirming the identity of an arrested militant, who has reportedly confessed to having plotted the 1999 hijacking of the Air India flight IC-814 from Kathmandu to Kandahar in Afghanistan.
“Well, we certainly will get in touch with the government of Bangladesh and try to find out what the position is,” External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna told reporters here.
He was reacting to reports in a section of the Bangladeshi media about Bangladesh arresting a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) militant who has claimed a role in the IC-814 hijack.
“If the identity of the person whom you are mentioning is the same as we have been looking out after the hijack…We certainly would be taking it up with the government of Bangladesh,” Krishna said.
According to some media reports, the Bangladesh government has arrested Belal Hosain alias Nanu Mondal alias Bilal, who confessed to to having played a key role in the Dec 24, 1999, hijacking of the Air India flight IC-814 from Kathmandu, Nepal, to Kandahar in Afghanistan.
Bilal was arrested by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) in a special anti-militancy drive near the Dhaka College Sunday.
He was arrested, along with four other JeM militants, including Pakistani national Rizwan Ahmed, who is the outfit’s regional coordinator and recruiting agent for conducting operations in India.
Counter-terror cooperation has improved between India and Bangladesh since Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League came to power in December 2008. The two countries signed three security-related pacts during Sheikh Hasina’s visit to India in January.
- Arrested Jaish militant admits he helped IC814 hijackers enter India through Bangladesh - Mar 06, 2010
- India to ask Bangladesh to handover suspected Kandahar hijack accused - Mar 02, 2010
- JeM coordinator for India, Bangladesh nabbed in Dhaka (Lead) - Feb 28, 2010
- Delhi cops to quiz Kandahar hijacker on other terror attacks - Mar 03, 2010
- Kandahar hijack planners came to India via Bangladesh: Jaish militant - Mar 06, 2010
- Hijacker of Indian plane to Kandahar nabbed again in Dhaka - Mar 01, 2010
- India will have to apply for extradition of hijack suspect: Chilean Ambassador - Apr 13, 2011
- Five JeM militants held in Bangladesh - Feb 28, 2010
- Conspirator of Kandahar hijacking may have been arrested - Apr 11, 2011
- Pak national nabbed in Chile not IC-814 hijacking accused: Pakistan - Apr 14, 2011
- Govt.'s foreign policy has surrendered against Pakistan, says BJP - Apr 14, 2011
- India toughens anti-hijack policy, but remains vulnerable (12 years after IC-814 hijack) - Dec 23, 2011
- `Bangladesh unwitting but easy host to terror groups' - Mar 02, 2010
- Masood Azhar back in business, says Pakistani paper - Sep 07, 2011
- Trying to verify identity of Pakistani held in Chile: Krishna - Apr 13, 2011
Tags: air india, air india flight, awami league, bangladesh government, bilal, external affairs minister, flight ic, government of bangladesh, hijack, hijacking, jaish, kandahar, kathmandu nepal, krishna, minister sheikh hasina, pacts, rab, rapid action, regional coordinator, rizwan ahmed