Hijacking | |
---|---|
Date | 5 July 1984 |
Summary | Terrorist hijacking |
Site | Lahore Airport, Punjab, Pakistan 31°31′17″N74°24′12″E / 31.52139°N 74.40333°E |
Aircraft | |
Aircraft type | Airbus A300 |
Operator | Indian Airlines |
IATA flight No. | IC405 |
ICAO flight No. | IAC405 |
Flight origin | Srinagar Airport |
Destination | Palam Airport |
Occupants | 264 (including 9 hijackers) |
Passengers | 254 |
Crew | 10 |
Fatalities | 0 |
On 5 July 1984, nine hijackers forced Indian Airlines Flight 405, an Airbus A300 on a domestic flight from Srinagar Airport to the Delhi-Palam Airport with 254 passengers and 10 crew on board, to be flown to Lahore Airport in Pakistan. [1]
The hijackers were armed with guns, daggers and a fake bomb. Their demands included the release of prisoners (all Sikhs arrested during Operation Blue Star), US$25 million for damage done during the Operation, and the return of items alleged to be stolen from the Golden Temple during the Operation. The demands of the hijackers were not met and they ultimately surrendered to Pakistani authorities on July 6. [1] [2]
The Press Trust of India quoted the hijackers as saying "Long Live Khalistan". [3] It was related to the secessionist struggle in the Indian state of Punjab, where Khalistani separatists were active. They demanded a separate country for Sikhs. [2] The Khalistan movement was a separatist movement in Indian Punjab and the United Kingdom where a small portion of the Sikh community openly asked for a different country for Sikhs (Khalistan) [4] after the Golden Temple was stormed by the Indian army. [5]
Parminder Singh Saini immigrated to Canada under a false name (Balbir Singh). He is said to have links with radical fanatic Sikh separatist terrorist movement in Indian state of Punjab. He fought deportation when his true identity was discovered, and stayed in Canada for 15 years, earning a law degree before he was deported in 2010. He hijacked an Indian Airlines plane that was flying from Srinagar to New Delhi, forcing it to reroute to Lahore in 1984. At trial in Pakistan, he was sentenced to death in a trial, but released after ten years' imprisonment. [6] [7]
After entering and completing his law school education in Canada, Saini sought admission to practice as a lawyer. The application was refused, in part because of the serious and heinous nature of Saini's crime, but also because of a lack of candour on his part. [8]
After his deportation to India on charges of being involved in terrorist activities in 2010, Saini sought to return to Canada in 2011. His most recent application to the Federal Court was denied as well. [9]
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