Investigators to Quiz IC-814 Hijack Suspect in Bangladesh
A team of investigators will soon leave for Bangladesh to question a top Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) militant accused of involvement in several bomb attacks, including those in Bangalore and Surat in 2008, besides claiming to be involved in the hijack of Indian airlines flight IC-814 to Kandahar in 1999, said media reports.
According to the reports, top government sources said the team would question Nannu Mia alias Bilal Mondal, who was arrested in Dhaka on February 28 along with four operatives of the Pakistan-based militant group JeM.
Among those arrested with Bilal is Rizwan Ahmed, a Pakistani national, who reportedly works as a recruiting agent for conducting operations in India.
Though Bilal had claimed to have played a key role in the hijacking of the Indian Airlines plane to Kandahar in 1999, sources in Bangladesh say his involvement is yet to be ascertained.
He is, however, wanted in Bangalore and Surat blasts in 2008.
Counter-terror cooperation between India and Bangladesh has improved since Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League came to power in December 2008.
The two countries signed three security-related pacts during Sheikh Hasina’s visit to India in January.
(Based on Media Reports)
