Bill introduced to award death for hijacking

The government on Thursday introduced a bill in the Rajya Sabha to amend the Anti-Hijacking Act, 1982 to include death penalty for hijacking of aircraft.

The government on Thursday introduced a bill in the Rajya Sabha to amend the Anti-Hijacking Act, 1982 to include death penalty for hijacking of aircraft.

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The Anti-Hijacking (Amendment) Bill 2010, was introduced by Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel. The amending bill seeks to strengthen the law by including new provisions to deal with hijacking.

“The present law has insufficient penalties to deal with these new situations and is not deterrent enough to prospective offenders,” said a statement on the reasons for introducing the bill in the house.

The current Anti-Hijacking Act, 1982 only has provisions for life imprisonment and a fine for hijacking of aircraft.

“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 award of death penalty for such offences,” the statement added.