**Bhubaneswar:** Is it true that Al Qaeda Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) operative Abdur Rehman, who was arrested from Cuttack during a joint operation of Delhi Police and Odisha Police on December 16, 2015, had given safe shelter to the 1999 Kandahar plane hijacker in the Millennium City when Rehman was just about 20 years old then?
Sounds unbelievable to many including some former top cops of the state after the State Crime Branch (CB) headed by its chief B. K. Sharma reportedly leaked such sensational information to few selected media houses in the state while the interrogation of Abdur Reham is still going on during his 10-day remand from Delhi.
Before drawing any conclusion, let’s hear some of the former top cops and a senior journalist over the matter to get a better perspective to the possibility of such a sensational event.
Bipin Bihari Mishra, Former Police DGP:
“When the incident (Kandahar plane hijack) happened, entire Afghanistan was under the Talibans and they were openly supporting terrorism and providing shelters to the terrorists. Why would then the hijacker in question come to India from Afghanistan? Secondly, why will they trust Abdur Rehman when he was hardly 20 years old then and was from Odisha in India without any radical antecedents. Therefore, it should be probed properly and thoroughly as often criminals give some confusing information to disrupt the investigation process and mislead investigating officials as they are on remand for a specific period. In Rehman’s case, is it possible for Odisha police now to go to Kandahar and establish Abdur’s claim? If there is fool-proof evidence to his claim only then his version will be acceptable by the court, otherwise such confessions before police do not hold ground.”
Echoing the same voice, another former Police DG- S N Tiwari said it’s totally unbelievable and unrealistic. Here’s what he had to say:
“The Kandahar plane hijack had occurred in 1999 and I don’t think at that time Abdur Rehman had had any links with the hijackers. It is true that he had gone to Pakistan, Afghanistan and Abu Dhabi, but considering his age by that time, I don’t feel he had any contacts with the plane hijack accused. If it is being said that he got contacts with them post hijack incident, then it is also not possible as why they would have chosen Cuttack to hide instead of any other safer place. Therefore, I think it’s unrealistic or there are certain misgivings.”
Going by Senior Journalist Rabi Das’s version- Crime Branch chief B. K. Sharma is directly to be blamed for this fiasco which is being done to meet the vested interests of the top cop desiring to become the next DGP of Odisha.
Here is more on what Rabi Das added:
“First, the national agencies and Intelligence officials got to know that he (Rehman) is in Cuttack, picked him up and he was grilled by them for a long time in Delhi while he didn’t reveal anything about the Kandahar incident, which is a national as well as international issue. And, now he is speaking about this to the Odisha Crime Branch, which is very shocking and unbelievable also. He was by that time just 20 years old. I think, the Kandahar angle is an intentional one as Crime Branch is now investigating the Oscar chit fund issue involving many BJD leaders, MPs, MLAs and some star campaigners. The CB, which is supposed to call all these tainted leaders for interrogation is suddenly diverting attention taking Abdur Rehman case and that too giving unrealistic revelations to media. I am sure that this is being done in order to divert public attention from the chit fund issue. If the chit-fund issue is properly probed, then many BJD leaders will be brought under the purview of investigation due to their direct involvement in the crime. As the ruling BJD government is pulling up its shocks to protect its tainted leaders, the CB is leaving no stone unturned to keep the government happy and satisfied.”
Ommcom News made repeated attempts to get Crime Branch DG – B. K Sharma’s reaction on this, but the top cop did not respond.
Notably, Indian Airlines Flight 814, commonly known as IC 814, was hijacked by Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, a Pakistan-based extremist group, on December 24, 1999. Hijackers ordered the aircraft to be flown to several locations. After touching down in Amritsar, Lahore and Dubai, the hijackers finally forced the aircraft to land in Kandahar, Afghanistan, which at the time was controlled by the Taliban. One passenger was killed and 176 others were safely released after the Indian government agreed to release three dreaded terrorists.
