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Bank robbery or hijacking conspiracy?

ISLAMABAD: The Indian print media has published conflicting reports about the two people arrested in Mumbai recently, described by Indian home minister L.K. Advani as "two of the four accomplices" of the five hijackers of the Indian airliner.

J. Dey in a report filed from Mumbai, and appearing in Friday's 'The Indian Express', New Delhi, quotes a senior police officer saying that "these (hijackers) had nothing to do with the hijacking."

Headlined 'Mumbai mystery: how bank robbery turned into a hijack conspiracy', he states that two of these (so called) four "ISI operatives" whose interrogation apparently forms a key part of the (Indian) Home Ministry's evidence were arrested in Mumbai ostensibly in commission with a bank robbery. "And even today, a senior police officer said that these had nothing to do with the hijacking."

He stated that "on December 30, 1999 a team of the special branch of Mumbai police arrested these two men out to rob a bank. The police recovered two AK-56 assault rifles, nine pistols, five hand-grenades, and four TNT anti-tank shells. No doubt rather excessive ammunition for a bank robbery. But Mumbai police commissioner Ronnle Mandonca was categorical in saying that the men had been arrested in connection with a bank robbery. Then word leaked out that two other men had been arrested and that the group was actually acting on behalf of a Taliban militant, an alleged associate of Osama Bin Laden."

The report says, "when higher-ups in the police realised that the media got wind of it, there were calls to editors to hold the story. Most newspapers, including The Indian Express, went ahead with (it)."

"Sources said, a senior police officer was pulled by his superiors for "leaking" this story. As if this wasn't enough, a senior police inspector was specially deputed to dig out the names of police officers "close" to crime reporters. Why were the police being so secretive". In response, the only thing that Mendonca had to try at the Mumbai police officers review 99 was that agents who were being interrogated under judicial custody, were (allegedly) ISI men. To all other queries, he had a stock answer. "These are operational details which cannot be divulged".

The writer states: "even today, when Home Minister L.K. Advani was talking in Delhi about the arrested men's involvement with the hijacking to the extent of saying that it had been planned in Mumbai, Police stuck to their old line."

"Mendonca declined to comment. Another senior police officer who is part of the team investigating the case categorically denied the arrested men's involvement in the hijacking but said they had come here to set up a base for the Harkat-ul-Ansar. "Advani must have access to intelligence that we are not aware of," said the officer, the report added.

Copy of the clipping had been enclosed by the Pakistan foreign office Spokesman in his statement issued Friday, in which, the obvious inconsistencies in the statement of Advani have been dwelt at length. Advani had claimed that arrest of four "accomplices" had led to revealing the identity of the hijackers.ÑAPP