Arrested Jaish militant admits he helped IC814 hijackers enter India through Bangladesh

Dhaka, Mar. 6 (ANI): An arrested Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist has revealed that he arranged the safe passage to militants involved in the 1999 Indian Airlines plane hijacking through Bangladesh to India.

The JeM operative, who was arrested in Dhaka last Sunday along with four other militants, is currently being quizzed by Bangladeshi Task Force for Interrogation (TFI) cell.

"Nannu Mia alias Belal Mandal alias Billal told us during interrogation that he helped send such 12-13 militants to India from Bangladesh. He knows one Abdur Rahman among them," The Star quoted an interrogator, who quizzed Billal, as saying.

In December 1999, militants hijacked the New Delhi-bound IC814 after it took off from Kathmandu.

They forced the aircraft to land in Kandahar in the then Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.

Indian authorities had to release four terrorists, including Jaish founder Moulana Masood Azhar, in return for the safe release of all the passengers.

The other JeM militants arrested by the Bangladeshi authorities include, Rezwan Ahmed, a Pakistani national who has been coordinating the Jaish activities here for the last five years.

Although there are doubts in India about Billal's involvement in the hijack drama, a team of sleuths from New Delhi is expected here to interrogate him. (ANI)