When Indira Gandhi made plane hijackers MLA, read this shocking truth

Indian Airlines plane hijacking: This incident happened about 46 years ago. On 20 December 1978, Indian Airlines flight IC-410 took off from Kolkata to Delhi’s Palam Airport. This flight with 130 passengers was to depart from Kolkata and reach Palam Airport via Lucknow. At around 5:45 pm, this Indian Airlines plane (Boeing 737-200) took off from Lucknow to Palam Airport. This plane was just 15 minutes away from Palam Airport when two passengers sitting in the 15th row got up from their seats and headed towards the cockpit. Actually, these two passengers were hijackers who had come with the intention of hijacking the plane.

The first hijacker entered the cockpit and pointed a pistol at the captain of the plane. The second hijacker took position near the intercom system of the plane. After controlling the pilot and co-pilot of the plane, these hijackers informed the passengers about the hijacking of the plane through the intercom. The hijackers wanted to take the plane to Nepal, but Captain MN Bhattiwala expressed his inability citing lack of fuel. After this, the hijackers asked to take the plane to Bangladesh, but the pilots once again refused to go towards Bangladesh citing lack of fuel. Finally, the hijackers asked to land the plane at Varanasi airport.

The hijacked plane landed at Varanasi airport
Accepting the hijackers’ demand, Captain MN Bhattiwala landed the plane at Varanasi airport after flying for the next few minutes. Meanwhile, the news of the hijacked plane reaching Varanasi shook the police administration of Uttar Pradesh. In a hurry, the forces of the surrounding districts were diverted to Varanasi airport. The next day, i.e. on the morning of 21 December 1978, the hijackers disclosed their demands through the plane’s radio system. The hijackers mainly put forward three demands. First demand – Indira Gandhi should be released from jail. Second demand – All cases registered against Sanjay Gandhi should be withdrawn. Third demand – The then Janata Party government of India should resign.

After knowing the demand of the hijackers, the then Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Ram Naresh Yadav was given the responsibility of negotiating with the hijackers. After which, Chief Minister Ram Naresh Yadav left for Varanasi airport along with the then Inspector General of Police and Chief Secretary. His chartered plane landed at Varanasi airport at around 1 pm. After this, a conversation started between the hijackers and Chief Minister Ram Naresh Yadav through the radio system of the plane. This round of conversation continued for several hours. Meanwhile, when some passengers complained of suffocation, the hijackers allowed the rear door of the plane to be opened. During this time, about 60 passengers managed to escape from the plane after getting the chance.

Also read: Did not like the college course, had to extend the exam dates, so 4 boys from Lucknow hijacked a plane, and then… Between the 70s and 90s, the state of aviation security was such that anyone could hijack a plane over trivial matters. A similar incident occurred in April 1993, in which four students from Lucknow hijacked an Indian Airlines plane to postpone their exam date. To know what the whole matter is, read here Click Do it.

The hijackers were rewarded with membership of the UP Legislative Assembly
Shortly after the passenger escaped, both the hijackers surrendered. After surrendering, both were identified as Bholanath Pandey and Devendra Pandey. After their arrest, both of them claimed to be members of the Indian Youth Congress. However, this claim was denied by the Congress. About two years after this incident, Indira Gandhi and her party returned to power once again in the 1980 general elections. As soon as she returned to power, Indira Gandhi withdrew the cases against the two hijackers named Bholanath Pandey and Devendra Pandey. Apart from this, in the 1980 assembly elections, the Indian National Congress Party also gave party tickets to these two hijackers as a reward.

Here, let us tell you that both the hijackers who hijacked the Indian Airlines plane on 20 December 1978 managed to win the elections and become members of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly. Bholanath Pandey was a Congress MLA from 1980 to 1985 and from 1989 to 1991, while Devendra Pandey was elected MLA twice. You will also be surprised to know that both the plane hijackers named Bholanath Pandey and Devendra Pandey used toy pistols to carry out the hijacking incident.

Tag: Airport Diaries, crime news, Delhi Airport, delhi news, IGI Airport, Lucknow Airport, UP News, Varanasi Airport