AMRITSAR: The Hindu hijacker of the Madras bound Indian Airlines plane had at one stage tried to become a Pakistani agent with the sole purpose of making a “fast buck.”
The hijacker, who is being taken to Delhi, told his interrogators that he had visited the Pakistan high commission in New Delhi on January 28 and met an official, Abdul Rashid, with a memorandum. In the memorandum he had said he was feeling disturbed over the demolition of the Babri Masjid. Condemning the political leaders of all hues for their role in “hurting the sentiments” of a particular community, he tried to win over the official’s sympathy.
During his brief meeting with Rashid, Hari Singh offered to “do some work” for the high commission if he was given a “reasonable reward.” But Rashid turned down his offer.
Hari Singh, however, would not give up easily and approached the Pakistan Airlines office in New Delhi in February.
He told the interrogators that during his asylum period in Pakistan he would have “exposed the functioning of the Indian government and the political leaders who were spreading communal hatred and animosity and were stinking with corruption.”
The hijacker was earlier gar landed in the presence of Indian police and greeted with cheers. Hani Singh had his own way with the police. He insisted on only Interpol being allowed to conduct the investigations into his case as he did not trust the Indian police here. Later, however, he heaped praise on the Punjab police.
The investigating agencies are trying to find out if he wished to use the hijacking episode as a launching pad for politics. The kind of “political statements” he had been delivering lends credence to the theory that his case is similar to that of the Pandey brothers who had hijacked a plane in U.P. with political aims and who were re warded with legislative seats by Indira Gandhi.
Article extracted from this publication >> April 2, 1993
