After seven hours, Mumbai airport hostage drama ends

After shooting dead his boss and keeping six of his colleagues, including five women, hostage — and Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji I...

After shooting dead his boss and keeping six of his colleagues, including five women, hostage — and Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport on the edge — for over seven hours, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) constable Raj Namdeo surrendered at around 12.45 am on Sunday.

‘‘After talking to the IG, CISF, S S Kirpekar, Mumbai police officials and his parents for over seven hours, he realised that he had made a mistake, so he gave up. When we spoke to him, he told us ‘leave nahin diya hain, is liye (he didn’t give me leave, that’s why),’’ IG (Operations) R K Shukla told The Indian Express.

‘‘There is a lot of pressure on the force but there is no leave application from Namdeo. But we are looking into the incident,’’ Shukla said.

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The hostage crisis began at 5.30 pm on Saturday when the jawan fired nine rounds from his Self Loading Rifle (SLR).

Deputy Commandant Arun Ramchandra Karanjkar, heading a CISF security detail inside the main airport building, was hit by five bullets. According to police sources, Karanjkar was at the security detail when the constable barged in, fired, rounded up the six hostages and then fired a few more rounds in the air. The CISF official was rushed to hospital where he was declared dead on arrival.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Ahmed Javed, who acted as negotiator, said Namdeo seemed to be in control of his faculties. The constable’s only demand was to be allowed to explain his side of the story to the media.

Earlier, Commissioner of Police R S Sharma said sharpshooters from the Mumbai Police’s Quick Reaction Force had taken position.

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Airport officials had shifted operations to different terminals. Even as security at the airport was stepped up, no flights were rescheduled or cancelled.

In Delhi, when the first call came from the Mumbai airport to the CISF control room, all the senior officers had left for the day. With Director General B.B. Mishra away in London, the call was routed to Inspector General (Operations) R.K. Shukla’s residence. Shukla and other senior officers got together at the control room to assess the situation.

Soon calls had also gone out to the NSG’s Special Action Group which deals with hostage situations. However, sources added that the NSG had been asked to stay put as the situation was well under control.

The CISF unit in Pune was alerted to send senior officers to Karanjkar’s residence. Karanjkar, who was based in Pune earlier, had left his family behind at the Hindustan Antibiotic Ltd in the nearby industrial town of Pimpri.