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Jammu: In what has been
described as a major catch, top militant commander Mehraj-ud-din
Dand, wanted for his involvement in the 1999 hijacking of flight
IC-814 to Kandahar and other terror attacks, has been arrested
from an undisclosed location on the Jammu-Srinagar highway, a
senior police officer said Thursday.
Addressing a news conference here, Inspector General of Police
(Jammu zone) Dilbag Singh said Mehraj-ud-din was arrested
Wednesday night after police got inputs that he was on his way
from Nepal to the Kashmir Valley.
The militant had close ties with a senior diplomat, whose name has
not been revealed, in Nepal who helped him in various activities
including hijacking of flight IC-814 in December 1999, the officer
said.
"Mehraj-ud-din was main person who arranged for all the logistics
for carrying out the Kandahar hijacking. He facilitated the entry
of five masked men into the aircraft with guns, knives and
grenades and arranged the finances," Dilbagh Singh said.
Mehraj-ud-din was taking care of planning and finances. "He was
like the top boss giving directions and arranging logistics."
On Dec 24, 1999, IC-814, with 176 passengers on board, was
hijacked by five Pakistani militants and forced to land at three
different airports - Amritsar, Lahore, and Dubai - before being
taken to Kandahar, the bastion of the then Taliban regime in
Afghanistan. In Dubai, Rupin Katyal, one of the passengers, was
fatally stabbed by the hijackers.
The aircraft had to spend a week on the tarmac in Kandahar before
three terrorists were swapped for the hostages.
Dilbagh Singh that Mehraj-ud-din started underground activities in
north Kashmir in 1987. He then joined the first militant group in
1988 and went for arms training to Pakistani Kashmir.
"He was arrested in 1989 and lodged in Kot Bhalwal jail (on
Jammu's outskirts) where he met (United Jehad Council chief) Syed
Salahudin and other top militants," Dilbagh Singh said. He was
released from jail in 1990. UJC is the highest decision-making
body for all the militant groups.
He went to Pakistan from the Wagah border about four to five times
on fake passports and different identities. "He was expert in
making fake passports, which he made for himself and several of
his associates," the officer said, adding that this had been
revealed during initial interrogation.
"He has worked for Dawood Ibrahim and was also involved in the
hawala trade," Dilbagh Singh said.
He said separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani had once helped
Mehraj to get a visa for Pakistan.
After 1995, he was mostly operating from Pakistan and Nepal.
Police described him as the most wanted and oldest militant,
"involved in a number of militancy related activities both in
India and outside".
He was married to a Hindu girl in Nepal who later embraced Islam.
He was associated with all the major militant groups - Hizbul
Mujahideen, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Harkat-ul-Mujahideen.
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