IC 814 hijack: Six magistrates, but no verdict

New Delhi/Patiala: On December 24, 1999, five men hijacked Indian Airlines’ IC814 from Kathmandu. India couldn’t arrest either the hijackers or the men behind the conspiracy. Investigating agencies, however, succeeded in arresting three men who provided infrastructure support to the quintet. Unfortunately, their trial dragged on.
When the case comes up for hearing at the Patiala Central Jail on August 10, it will be more than six years.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on its part believes that the case against the three — Abdul Latif, Yusuf Nepali and Dilip Kumar Bhujel — was watertight. Six years on, the case is heading nowhere. As many as five magistrates have looked at the case, now being heard by the sixth.
According to sources, the trial would take another couple of years to end if the hearings proceed at a snail’s pace.
07/08/06 Archis Mohan and Gurpreet Singh Nibber/Hindustan Times

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