The hijacking of the IA flight IC 436 at Lucknow Airport...Part 2

   In my last post I had written about my adventure in the sky. Indian Airlines flight IC 436 was hijacked by 4 Arts college students of Lucknow, with 59 passenger on board. The student hijackers demands were postponement of exams, grants of more funds to their college, investigation of corruption charge against the Principal of the college & introduction of PG courses. All the passengers were in the grip of extreme fear except for the army personnel who were tipsy & off duty.Due to the inebriated condition one of the defense guy would get up every now & than to catch hold of the hijackers.But the fellow passengers would push him back to his seat.

The hijacked flight (Illustration purpose only)

 Suddenly the plane started to loose height which created a panic in the aircraft.I thought the dooms day had arrived. Calm prevailed only after the plane stabilized followed by the voice of the Captain. " Ladies & Gentlemen! the plane lost height due to the air pocket, nothing to worry. Hon'ble Governor of UP has agreed to meet the students as per their demand and we have been given clearance to land at the Amausi airport, Lucknow. Amid fervent prayers the plane finally landed.

 Calm prevailed only when the plane stabilized.....

 When I looked outside it was a scene straight from a James Bond movie ,gun toting policemen, red & blue siren lights on the vehicle surrounding the plane.Everyone was waiting nervously, with bated breath for the doors to be opened. Nobody on board realized that due to the hijacked protocol the plane was not allowed to taxi towards the terminal building and was parked far from the main parking bay.

Fire Engines approaching the hijacked aircraft

 
   I forgot to mention that due to my media profession I managed to grab the attention of 2 students hijackers during the hold up. So after the plane had touched down I requested them to allow me to go the  wash room, as I thought it was the safest place in case of crossfire . After consultation with his colleague one of the student hijackers accompanied me to the toilet which was at the front side of the aircraft. I don't remember how long I was in the toilet until I heard a knock. I realized that holding myself inside would be an exercise in futile. I came out.

                                              

Security forces aiming at the aircraft

  As I was returning to my seat things began to happen very fast. The next moment I was on the floor with the hijacker on my back and the army guy on top of him. The small tin box (Pan Masala) fell out of the hijacker's hand as he started screaming "plane ko uda do koi bachne na pai (blow the plane. Kill them all). But it was over for the hijackers as the tin box was empty. It had no  RDX. They fooled every one for nearly 4 hours. The hijackers had manage to hijack the plane for ransom on a hoax.

The wash room

  The over hijackers over powered by the passengers were picked up by the police & we all returned back to the main airport building after some comic moments when the passengers were jumping from the wings of the plane and landing on the ground in the most awkward position

.

The relieved passengers after the ordeal

 Later on the flight IC 436 was once again rescheduled for departure. at night. But I avoided like a plague and took the night train to Delhi.

The making of the film RHINO- Part 1

The Book Kaziranga Trail..

The year was around 1987. Mr Amol Palekar had taken over as the Chairman of Children's film Society, India (CFSI).  Mr Gulzar along with TS Narsimanh (of Malgudi Days fame) were the executive council members in Mr Paleker's team.The new chairman like his predecessors was in   a hurry to ensure that some good children's film were produced  during his tenure.

Gulzar

Amol Palekar

    As luck  would have it, CFSI already had the rights of the book Kaziranga Trail, written by Aroop Kumar Datta & published by Children book Trust . The book was a work of fiction, a thrilling jungle adventure about the one horned Rhino, found in the Kaziranga National Park, Assam. Mr Palekar wanted to start work on the project at the earliest. He chose his Chief assistant Mr Shashank Shankar (son of famous choreographer Mr Sachin shankar) to direct the film.
                                                Accordingly Shashank & myself embarked on the location hunting work & left for Guwahati from Mumbai                       .

Shashank Shankar, Bhrigu Phukkan (Ex Home minister,Assam), MukeshSharma

  At that time the ruling party  in Assam was  Assam Gana Parishad or AGP headed by Prafulla Kumar Mahanta ,as the CM. The home minister was  Bhrigu Phukkan , who  met us and assured us of all possible help, while we produce the film in Assam.

Manas Wild life sanctuary .......famous for Tigers

                   The film Rhino was to be shot in the Kaziranga  National Park. How ever Shashank was keen to visit Manas (famous for Tigers) wild life sanctuary too.  He felt that a combination of both the locales will do justice to the film. So early one morning we set out for the Manas sanctuary on elephant back.The mahout in front followed by Shshank and myself . The weather was pleasent and we could hear the sounds of peacock, monkeys and birds. We were now  a little deeper into the forest. Suddenly there was complete silence. It was a bit weired. Shashank asked the Mahout "Ye achanak janwaron ki awwazen kyun band ho gayin''? the mahout said "kuch ghabarane ki baat nahi   sahab, Sher Ver hoga."   I retorted "Sher hoga matlab? Ye to phansnewali baat  hai". The mahout was more then relaxed. He made us comfortable. He told us  we are safe, as we are perched high up on the elephant .

Perched safe on elephant's back

 Just as we were adjusting to the new environment, I felt a weight loss in my hip pocket. I had dropped my wallet. It had every thing , our air tickets, monies , Identity card etc. When I told Shashank about it , he was completely foxed. But again our mahout consoled us. "Koi baat nahi shaab, mil jayega. Idhar  kidhar hi gira hoga. Hum log haathi se utarkar dhoonege." Without batting an eyelid Shashank said, "Matlab haathi se utarkar seedhey, Sher ke mooh mein jaayen". But the reassuring approach of the mahout and the lure of finding the wallet, compelled us to get down from the elephant and search for the wallet.

Searching for the wallet

 As we were walking, we heard a sound of rumbling near the shrubs. We looked at the mahout ,"Darne ki koi baat nahi shaab, tiger hai, ye lijiye Sab ka saathi". and he gave a small bamboo stick in our hands. Shashank looked at me as if to ask, if we can shoo away the tiger with this stick. It was like akaash se gire aur khajoor mei atke. I was not sure whether to continue with our search or just abandon it.  And Suddenly all hell broke loose...

THIS IS A GOOD SITUATION TO  GIVE  THE STORY A BREAK
NEXT POST WILL REVEAL IT ALL
TILL THEN..   THE RHINO  SUSPENSE CONTINUES..

The Hijacking of the flight IC 436

My first posting was as the Deputy Director of the Doordarshan Kendra Mumbai. I had gone to Lucknow for official work. Upon my return, on 10th April 1993, I boarded the Indian Airlines flight IC 436 from Lucknow to Delhi at 4pm. It was suppose to be a 50 minute flight and had 59 passengers. But destiny had other plans. There was this group of four students in their twenties who also boarded the flight with us. They were lanky boys, each weighing not more than 55 to 60 Kgs. Once inside the aircraft, they had different ideas.

Old Amausi Airport Lucknow

After the take off and completion of usual security formalities by the air hostess, we were looking forward to the light snacks, when we heard the voice of the captain.. "Kind attention ladies and gentle men, this is your captain speaking.. Well our flight has been hijacked and we are not going to Delhi.. Let me inform you"..... And all of a sudden the English speaking, mild mannered captain was overtaken by a rough youth voice in chaste Hindi." Idhar dijiye microphone'' and he continued.."aap log dhyan se suniye ..hum logo ne is  hawai jahaj ko hijack kar liya .hai. Humaare pass RDX hai.. agar aap logo ne hamaari baat nahi maani to hum is jahaz ko uda denge.. hume apne marne ki koi fikar nahi.. hum to sar pe kafan baandh kar nilkle magar aap mein se koi bhee zinda nahi bachega.. aap sub apne apne sir neeche kar ke baithe rahiye.. aage kiya karna hai batayenge"( Translation in English "Give me the microphone...listen carefully...we have hijacked this plane..we are loaded with RDX explosive.. if you do not obey our orders we will blow this plane...we are not afraid of dying.. But none of you will survive..  Keep your heads down and remain seated.. Next instruction will follow.")

The hijacked Passengers

          What followed was a dead silence in the aircraft. Passengers were looking at each other’s face ..is it some kind of a joke or its real..There were altogether  four hijackers two in front and two at the rear, holding the Tin(pan masala) box close to their chest, which they claimed had RDX  Suddenly one of the hijacker passed by. I was sitting in the third row on the window seat. In the front row two army officers were seated. One of them who was tall and well built was quite tipsy.  All of a sudden he stood up and wanted to catch hold of the hijacker who passed by. The hijacker shouted 'Inko baithne ko bolo..khud bhee marenge aur aap logo ko bhee marvaayenge."(Translation in English “Ask him to remain seated.. or else every one dies") and he pointed towards the small tin box in which he was suppose to be carrying RDX- the plastic explosive.

RDX...The Plastic Explosive

 In those days RDX was a terror. The bomb last of 1992 at Mumbai was carried out by using RDX. Nobody wanted to take chances. Somehow people managed to calm the army officer down. Mean while the flight continue to hover in circles between Lucknow and Delhi. I was 39 when this happened. My kids were not even 10 years of age. This is no way to die.  As I was in my thoughts, suddenly the voice of the hijacker was again on the public address system. "We have only one demand.... the UP govt should grant Rs one crore in aid to our Arts college, Lucknow. Our college is in a bad shape" .The student hijackers were demanding postponement of examination, grant of more funds to the college, investigation of corruption charges against the principal of the college and introduction of post graduate course.  

Arts College , Lucknow

 They continued "We are not asking anything for ourselves. We have sold our paintings to buy these tickets and hijack the plane. This was the only way to highlight the plight of our Arts College. We have chosen today's day because the daughter of the Principal of the Arts College is with us in flight. We will only speak to the Governor of UP”. And then the pilot was on the public address system “Yes they are right. We are trying to establish contact with the Hon'ble Governor of UP. We may also have to refuel in the sky .So please stay calm and remain seated.".

The refueling in the sky..

 Once again the high spirited army officer got up from his seat and once again he was pushed back.  The tension continued to prevail for more than one hour. Nobody knew if they will be able to touchdown alive .Specially after the pilot's announcement that plane was running out of fuel. I could see people praying and some of them crying. Reaction of the passenger was creating a fear in each other’s mind. And all of a sudden the plane started losing height and all hell broke loose....

The ill fated IC 436 loosing heights....

LET ME GIVE A BREAK TO THE STORY, SO THAT THE SUSPENSE CONTINUES IN THE SECOND PART OF THIS POST....
Do watch out Part 2 T.R.U.E Talks on the Hijacking of the flight IC 436 in the next post.