India Hijack Turns Out to Be a Test

It sounded all too plausible in a world plagued by terrorism--Sikh separatists armed with machine guns hijacked an Indian airliner Friday and threatened to blow it up.

The first reports had all the familiar markings of a fanatic air piracy. There were VIP hostages, a woman passenger reported wounded, demands for a $1-million ransom and dozens of commandos poised to storm the plane.

But none of it was true.

The mock hijacking--13 hours of make-believe complete with a “slain” dummy--was staged by the Indian government to test security responses.

Both Indian news agencies initially reported a hijacking was under way.

The truth was that four security men had posed as Sikh terrorists with guns and grenades and demanded release of four Sikh militants from jail. The “hijackers” eventually surrendered and the passengers were freed.

But for several hours there was mass confusion before officials announced it was only a drill.

The government had chartered a flight for 92 “passengers,” including an infant. It was Indian Airlines 491A from New Delhi to Bombay.

But there were no real passengers, no tourists and no foreigners, only government men and an unknowing crew on the flight deliberately “hijacked” and forced to land in Aurangabad, 650 miles south of New Delhi.

“We didn’t know it was a mock exercise until the whole thing was over and the passengers had been evacuated,” Aurangabad control tower officer Rajesh Sinha said.

“This was a mock exercise to test security,” Civil Aviation Minister Jagdish Tytler said. “It was necessary to find out if everything works and test the security situation.”

The government called the exercise “satisfactory,” but the United News of India said Aurangabad officials were slow in throwing a cordon around the plane and medical assistance was late after officers announced that a passenger had been shot.

Police intelligence sources have said that Sikh terrorists, demanding independence for Punjab, are planning new attacks, including a possible hijacking. Sikh separatists have hijacked Indian airliners several times in recent years.