The 1973 Nepal plane hijack (also known as the Biratnagar Plane Hijack) was the first plane
hijacking
Hijacking may refer to:
Common usage
Computing and technology
* Bluejacking, the unsolicited transmission of data via Bluetooth
* Brandjacking, the unauthorized use of a company's brand
* Browser hijacking
* Clickjacking (including ''like ...
in the history of
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
.
Girija Prasad Koirala
Nepal Ratna Girija Prasad Koirala ( ne, गिरिजाप्रसाद कोइराला ; 4 July 1924 – 20 March 2010), affectionately known as Girija Babu, was a Nepalese politician. He headed the Nepali Congress and served as the ...
planned the hijack to steal money that the
Nepal Rastra Bank
The Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) ( ne, नेपाल राष्ट्र बैंक) was established April 26, 1956 A.D. (Nepali Date: Baisakh 14, 2013 B.S.) under the Nepal Rastra Bank Act, 1955, to discharge the central banking responsibilit ...
was having transported from
Biratnagar
Biratnagar () is a metropolitan city in Nepal, which serves as the capital of Province No. 1. With a population of 242,548 as per the 2011 census, it is the largest city in the province and also the headquarters of Morang district. As per the p ...
to
Kathmandu
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, subdivision_type = Country
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, subdivision_type1 = Province
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.
The main motive for this incident was to gather funds for an armed revolution to restore
multi-party
In political science, a multi-party system is a political system in which multiple political parties across the political spectrum run for national elections, and all have the capacity to gain control of government offices, separately or in c ...
democracy by overthrowing the party-less
Panchayat
The Panchayat raj is a political system, originating from the Indian subcontinent, found mainly in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. It is the oldest system of local government in the Indian subcontinent, and historical ment ...
system headed by the King in Nepal.
Aircraft
The aircraft was a
DHC-6 Twin Otter
The de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada, which produced the aircraft from 1965 to 1988; Viking Air purchased the type certificate, then restarted ...
(Registration: 9N-ABB) and was delivered to Royal Nepal Airlines in 1971.
Hijackers
Girija Prasad Koirala
Nepal Ratna Girija Prasad Koirala ( ne, गिरिजाप्रसाद कोइराला ; 4 July 1924 – 20 March 2010), affectionately known as Girija Babu, was a Nepalese politician. He headed the Nepali Congress and served as the ...
was the main architect of this hijack. He wanted an armed fight for democracy in Nepal, but did not have sufficient funds. He coordinated with another democratic fighter Durga Subedi. Subedi was recently released from prison, where he read about the hijacking of
Japan Airlines Flight 351
Japan Air Lines Flight 351 was a scheduled passenger flight from Tokyo Haneda Airport to Fukuoka that was hijacked by members of the Red Army Faction of the Japan Communist League on March 31, 1970, in an incident usually referred to in Japanese ...
. He came up with the idea of a plane hijack to collect the funds by carrying out a similar hijack.
They were tipped from Madan Aryal who worked at
Nepal Rastra Bank
The Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) ( ne, नेपाल राष्ट्र बैंक) was established April 26, 1956 A.D. (Nepali Date: Baisakh 14, 2013 B.S.) under the Nepal Rastra Bank Act, 1955, to discharge the central banking responsibilit ...
in
Biratnagar
Biratnagar () is a metropolitan city in Nepal, which serves as the capital of Province No. 1. With a population of 242,548 as per the 2011 census, it is the largest city in the province and also the headquarters of Morang district. As per the p ...
and knew that the bank would transport
Indian currency
The Indian rupee ( symbol: ₹; code: INR) is the official currency in the republic of India. The rupee is subdivided into 100 ''paise'' (singular: ''paisa''), though as of 2022, coins of denomination of 1 rupee are the lowest value in use w ...
by plane through Biratnagar. Nagendra Dhungel and Basanta Bhattarai joined the team to hijack the plane.
Crew and passengers
Three crew members and 19 passengers were on board the flight, including actress
Mala Sinha
Alda Sinha (born 11 November 1936), better known by her stage name Mala Sinha is a former Indian actress who has worked in Hindi, Bengali and Nepali films. Initially starting her career with regional cinema, she went on to become a top leading ...
.
Hijacking
On 10 June 1973, Nepal Rastra Bank planned to transport
Indian Rupees
The Indian rupee (symbol: ₹; code: INR) is the official currency in the republic of India. The rupee is subdivided into 100 ''paise'' (singular: ''paisa''), though as of 2022, coins of denomination of 1 rupee are the lowest value in use wher ...
from Arrariya, India to Kathmandu via Biratnagar. It was transported to Biratnagar by land, and was supposed then go to Kathmandu by air. At 8:30
NPT, the 19-seater
Royal Nepal Airlines
Nepal Airlines Corporation ( ne, नेपाल वायुसेवा निगम, Nepāl Vāyusevā Nigam, Nepal Air Service Corporation), formerly known as Royal Nepal Airlines ( ne, शाही नेपाल वायुसेवा, ...
Twin Otter
The de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada, which produced the aircraft from 1965 to 1988; Viking Air purchased the type certificate, then restarted ...
passenger aircraft took off for Kathmandu from Biratnagar. The three hijackers hijacked the within five minutes of take-off. They forced the pilot to land the plane in
Forbesganj
Forbesganj is a (proposed district)city with municipality in the Araria District (formerly Purnia District before 1992) in the state of Bihar, India, situated at the border of Nepal.
Etymology
During the British Raj the area was under the admi ...
,
Bihar
Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...
, in a grass field and took 3 million
Indian rupees
The Indian rupee (symbol: ₹; code: INR) is the official currency in the republic of India. The rupee is subdivided into 100 ''paise'' (singular: ''paisa''), though as of 2022, coins of denomination of 1 rupee are the lowest value in use wher ...
that belonged to the Nepalese government.
The hijackers who boarded the plane were Basanta Bhattarai, Durga Subedi, and Nagendra Prasad Dhungel. Girija Prasad Koirala and
Chakra Prasad Bastola
Chakra Prasad Bastola was a Nepalese politician who served as the Foreign minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nepal from 10 April 2000 to 26 July 2002, as well as Minister of Home Affairs from 2004 to 2006 and the Nepalese ambassador to Indi ...
were involved in transportation of the loot to
Darjeeling
Darjeeling (, , ) is a town and municipality in the northernmost region of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the easternmost province of Nepal, ...
. They hid it in the house of B. L. Sharma, an acquaintance of
BP Koirala
Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala ( ne, विश्वेश्वरप्रसाद कोइराला; 8 September 1914 – 21 July 1982), (Nepali: 1971 B.S. Bhadra 24 - 2039 B.S Shrawan 6)better known as B. P. Koirala ( ne, बीपी ...
.
Ganesh Sharma, an Indian national, arrived with a jeep to the landing site.
Other members involved who were at the field in Forbesganj were Binod Aryal,
Sushil Koirala
Sushil Prasad Koirala (; 12 August 1931 – 9 February 2016) was a Nepalese politician and the Prime Minister of Nepal from 11 February 2014 to 10 October 2015. He was also President of the Nepali Congress from 2010 to 2016, having earlier serve ...
, Manahari Baral, Rajendra Dahal and Biru Lama. Three different vehicles were used in transporting the three boxes of cash to Darjeeling.
Weapons used
The pistols used were illegal and had no license. Two 32 revolvers and one 36 grenade bomb were used..
Aftermath
The plane took off immediately with the passengers after the boxes of cash were taken out. The hijackers went first to
Darjeeling
Darjeeling (, , ) is a town and municipality in the northernmost region of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the easternmost province of Nepal, ...
, then to
Banaras
Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.
*
*
*
* The city has a syncretic tra ...
and finally to
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
. The hijackers occasionally made trips to
New Delhi
New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...
to meet
BP Koirala
Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala ( ne, विश्वेश्वरप्रसाद कोइराला; 8 September 1914 – 21 July 1982), (Nepali: 1971 B.S. Bhadra 24 - 2039 B.S Shrawan 6)better known as B. P. Koirala ( ne, बीपी ...
, the then President of Nepali Congress. However, within a year all hijackers were arrested in India except Nagendra Dhungel. After the
1975 Emergency in India ended, they were released on bail.
The DH-6 was used afterward for Nepalese flights for another 41 years, until it was destroyed in the 2014 crash of
Nepal Airlines Flight 183 . The parts of the aircraft were brought to Nepalganj and were put together again and are currently being exhibited in the
BP Museum in
Sundarijal
Sundarijal is a village and former Village Development Committee that is now part of Gokarneshwar Municipality in Kathmandu District in Province No. 3 of central Nepal.
History
The name Sundarijal was derived from the term that "Sundari" means ...
, Kathmandu.
In 2017, a political and historical documentary about this incident titled ''Hijacking for Democracy'' was screened at the
Nepal Tourism Board
The Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) is the official national tourism organization of Nepal which works towards establishing Nepal as a premier holiday destination to the world. The Board provides platform for vision-drawn leadership for Nepal’s tour ...
in Bhrikutimandap, Kathmandu.
Controversies
It has been alleged that the money, meant to be used in the struggle for democracy, was misused.
BP Koirala
Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala ( ne, विश्वेश्वरप्रसाद कोइराला; 8 September 1914 – 21 July 1982), (Nepali: 1971 B.S. Bhadra 24 - 2039 B.S Shrawan 6)better known as B. P. Koirala ( ne, बीपी ...
himself suspected that the money was misused.
See also
*
Indian Airlines Flight 814
Indian Airlines Flight 814, commonly known as IC 814, was an Indian Airlines Airbus A300 en route from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, to Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, India, on Friday, 24 December 1999, whe ...
References
Further reading
* Subedi, Durga (2018). ''विमान विद्रोह - एउटा राजनीतिक अपहरणको बयान'' (in
Nepali). Kitab Publishers Pvt. Ltd., Kathmandu.
External links
"The skyjack that shook Panchayat"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nepal plane hijack, 1973
1973 in aviation
Aircraft hijackings
1973 in Nepal
Aviation accidents and incidents in 1973
Aviation accidents and incidents in Nepal
Accidents and incidents involving the de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter
Nepal Airlines accidents and incidents
1973 crimes in Nepal
1973 disasters in Nepal