Unruly passenger on flight from Goa triggers hijack scare in Delhi

Things became clear only after extensive discussions with the passengers and crew who revealed there was no hijack attempt,and no hostage-like situation inside the aircraft. Senior Home Ministry officials clarified that no security drill had been planned.

Sources said the three detained passengers are called Jitender Kumar Mohalla (Seat 16E),Samir Uppal (16B),and a woman,Harpreet Anand (29B).

According to these sources,one of the detainees,believed to be drunk,told the cabin crew that he had already “put to sleep” one passenger,which raised an alarm. Harpreet Anand allegedly told the crew “they were not alone”,and they had more people on board,the sources said.

On the ground,the crisis exploded after the pilot of Indigo Flight 6E334,which had taken off from Goa at 3 pm,demanded ‘priority landing’ from Delhi Air Traffic Control as it approached the Capital,sources in the ATC said. It emerged later the pilot had told the ATC that a passenger on board was behaving “threateningly”.

Not willing to take a chance in an environment of heightened terrorist threats,the authorities immediately alerted the security forces and the NSG was called in. The commandos reached the airport within 15-20 minutes,and a full hijack situation drill was activated.

Within half an hour,Chidambaram was at the control room of the IB. The Committee of Secretaries on Aircraft Hijack,headed by the Cabinet Secretary,held an emergency meeting. The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and NSG were told they were dealing with a hijack situation,and asked to be prepared for any eventuality,sources in those organisations said.

According to passengers to whom The Indian Express spoke,the aircraft touched down at 5.30 pm,around 20 minutes behind schedule,but was not taken to its parking bay. The passengers were made to sit inside the aircraft till about 6.30 pm without any information.

A passenger who did not wish to be named said trouble had started almost immediately after take-off.

“There was a minor altercation. We could hear a few people talking in raised voices. The airhostesses seemed very upset. But we could not know what exactly had happened. We saw one person,who was clearly drunk,pacing up and down and talking animatedly with the crew. He was claiming to be an official of the DGCA (Directorate-General of Civil Aviation),” the passenger said.

“But the entire matter did not last more than 10 minutes. We thought things had normalised after that. Even when we landed in Delhi,the passengers were never told that there was some problem. It was only when we spoke to friends and relatives from inside the aircraft that we realised there was some problem. We also heavy security presence at the airport and around our aircraft,” the passenger added.

Prabhash Jha,who was on board,said there had been no hijack call in the aircraft. “Only after the plane was surrounded by NSG commandos that we figured something was wrong. There was no trouble at all on the plane. A passenger had a small tiff with the crew over a change of seats,but it was really nothing,” Jha said.

“After we got off,each and every passenger was thoroughly checked and at least three of them were detained. We still cannot figure out what the problem is,” Jha said after leaving the airport at 10 pm.

“Even as there was no real ‘hijack’ or a ‘mock-drill’ conducted by the security agencies,the fact that the passengers on board were trapped inside the aircraft for over four hours without any actual threat is reflective of a bureaucratic mess-up. The decision to allow the passengers to disembark took at least four hours in coming,even though passengers said there was no semblence of fear inside the plane,” a senior ATC official said on condition of anonymity.

M Madhavan Nambiar,Secretary,Ministry of Civil Aviation,said whatever happened at the airport was not a mock drill but a serious incident. “After reviewing all aspects of the situation,and satisfying itself that it was safe to allow the passengers to disembark,the authorities took the decision to do so with all precautions in place including screening of the alighting passengers,” Nambiar said.

Still,the luggage of the passengers was withheld. “Airline officials have assured us that our bags would be sent to our addresses after screening,” a passenger said.

Aditya Ghosh,president,Indigo Airlines,said: “Goa-Delhi Indigo flight 6E334 made a priority landing in Delhi owing to unruly behaviour of a passenger on board. The plane was taken to isolation bay on arrival.”

There were 163 passengers and six crew on board.