2 hijacking convicts face criminal case in Mumbai

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February 05, 2008 23:57 IST

Two persons convicted for the hijacking of Indian Airlines flight IC-814 to Kandahar in December 1999 also face trial in a bank robbery and arms haul case in Mumbai.

The two -- Abdul Latif and Dilip Bhujel alias Bhopal Mal -- will soon be brought to Mumbai to face trial in the case that also goes back to 1999, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Rakesh Maria said.

Latif and Bhujel (both sentenced to life imprisonment in the hijacking case) are presently lodged in a Patiala jail.

"We will soon make an application for getting these accused to Mumbai," said Maria.

The case is slated for hearing before Ad-hoc Additional Sessions Judge S D Agarwal in Sewri on Febraury 26.

As per the Crime Branch case, on October 6, 1999, over two months before the hijacking, the duo, along with three Pakistani nationals, stole a Maruti van in suburban Malad and later used the vehicle for robbery at the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank in Borivli where over Rs 7 lakh was stolen.

The Crime Branch, as per the chargesheet, also found them in possession of two AK-56 rifles, seven grenades and four rocket launchers, which were intended "to endanger life of the persons or to cause injury to property in India".

The police arrested Mohammed Asif, Mohammed Rafiq Haji and Mustaq Azmi along with Latif and Bhujel in December 1999.

Azmi was accused of harbouring the accused before the dacoity.

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