Plane hijack threat ahead of Independence Day?

The Intelligence Bureau has put out an alert regarding a possible hijack of a plane from Ahmedabad.

Intelligence Bureau sources told rediff.com that there are many alerts that have been put out ahead of Independence Day and this is one among them.

Although the rest of the alerts are general in nature, the one pertaining to Ahmedabad is a more specific one.

The IB is treating this alert a bit more seriously because the intercepts and the statements made by Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorist Abu Jundal are similar in nature.

Jundal had, during his interrogation, mentioned that after the 26/11 sea-borne attack the LeT was planning an aerial attack.

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Intelligence Bureau officials say that the possibility of a hijack is very high, as some terror groups may try and free some of the high profile Lashkar operatives in the Indian jails like they did in December 1999 with the Kandahar hijack.

It is not just Ahmedabad alone, but airports across the country have been placed on an alert, sources pointed out.

Security measures have to be stepped up in the wake of this alert.

Sources also point out that during important days such a drill is a must since security tends to be lax in the event of heavy VIP participation in other places in a day.

Meanwhile, the IB is studying the confessional statement made by Jundal. Although Jundal has spoken about aerial attacks, he has also said that many attacks were being planned. However, the one most specific by Jundal was the attack on the Nashik police academy in retaliation to the attack on the Karachi police academy.