M A I N   N E W S

Bill to award death penalty to hijackers
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 19
The government today introduced a Bill in the Rajya Sabha seeking to award death penalty to those involved in the hijacking of civilian planes.

The Anti-Hijacking (Amendment) Bill, 2010, was introduced in the Rajya Sabha by Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel and it seeks to have a provision to deal with hijacking.

The statement of objects and reasons of the Bill says incidents of hijacking in the past have necessitated a fresh and thorough examination of the preparedness of all concerned to face such exigencies.

“The present law has insufficient penalties to deal with such situations and is not deterrent enough to prospective offenders. It is necessary to make the extant provisions dealing with hijacking more comprehensive to cover all aspects and kinds of hijacking by offenders and to make the law more stringent by awarding death penalty for such offences,” the statement said.

In view of the increasing cases of hijacking and impending threats of hijacking, the Bill proposes to amend the Anti-Hijacking Act, 1982, which at present provides for life imprisonment and fine for such offenders.

The Bill also says any person who attempt and fails in his bid to hijack a plane will be deemed in the eyes of law to have hijacked a plane.