Nepal-bound flights on red alert

New Delhi: The drama kicked off by death sentence to Mohammed Afzal is among security concerns behind a heightened airport alert on Nepal-bound flights, with the Centre apprehensive that militants could resort to hostage-taking to secure his release in a bid to highlight Kashmir.
The hijacking of IC-814 to Kandahar is playing on the Centre's mind as measures have been taken to thwart any possible hijack bid on flights to Kathmandu, after an alert was sounded in Varanasi, Kolkata and Lucknow airports on Monday.
Sources said that intense debate over Afzal's hanging has been factored in by the government while stepping up security.
Flights and other public transport systems have been identified as potential terror threats, where saboteurs could take hostages to armtwist the Centre into releasing the Jaish militant, convicted for the attack on Parliament in 2001.
07/10/06 Subodh Ghildiyal/Times of India

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