WHEN ADMIRATION FOR INDIRA LED TO HIJACKING OF A PLANE

The man who had hijacked an Indian airlines Lucknow-Delhi-Kolkata flight to protest against Morarji Desai government's "vindictiveness" against Indira Gandhi died in Luckow last week professing to be a life-long Congressman.

- RASHEED KIDWAI

Bhola Nath Pandey breathed last on Friday, August 23, 2024 aged, 71. Priyanka Gandhi condoled his death on twitter recalling his services and contribution to the grand old party.

On December 20, 1978, two young men, Bhola Nath Pandey and Devendra Pandey, had reportedly hijacked the Lucknow- Delhi-Kolkata Indian Airlines Flight 410. The Boeing 737 had 126 passengers on board, among them two former ministers of Indira Gandhi’s cabinet, Ashoke Sen and Dharam Bir Sinha. Barely 15 minutes before the plane was to touch down at Delhi, the hijackers had got up and moved towards the cockpit. Captain M.N. Battiwala was forced to abort landing in Delhi and head for Varanasi.

The Pandeys were not related but their hijacking bid was driven by their mutual admiration for Indira. They spoke about the “vindictiveness” of the Janata Party-led government and demanded the former Prime Minister’s immediate and unconditional release from jail. Both said they were Youth Congress members, a claim the then Uttar Pradesh Congress unit chief Mohsina Kidwai had denied vehemently.