The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has registered an FIR into the alleged attempt to hijack or crash a Flydubai passenger aircraft after its Omani co-pilot allegedly stabbed Indian captain Smit Machchhar inside the cockpit during a flight on September 30.
The case was registered, invoking Section 3 of the Anti-Hijacking Act, 2016 and the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA).
Saudi authorities arrested the co-pilot following the emergency landing. The FIR states that the Centre received information about the alleged attack and concluded that the offences cited in the incident come under the Anti-Hijacking Act and the UAPA. The two provisions cited in the case are scheduled offences under the National Investigation Agency Act, 2008. Invoking sub-sections (5) and (8) of Section 6, read with Section 8 of the NIA Act, the government directed the agency to register a case and begin an investigation.
The Centre directed the agency to investigate the incident, according to the FIR. The Centre said the alleged attack on an Indian pilot, coupled with the alleged attempt to hijack or crash a passenger aircraft, warranted an investigation by India’s principal anti-terrorism agency. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said last Wednesday that Captain Machchhar was responding well to treatment following an operation at a hospital in Abu Dhabi. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the Indian Embassy in the UAE had remained in regular contact with Machchhar’s family, doctors, hospital officials and local authorities to monitor his condition.
