Kandahar hijack suspect Mehrajuddin arrested

In a major breakthrough, Jammu and Kashmir Police have arrested a top militant Merajuddin alias Javed Ahmad who is suspected to be involved in hijacking of IC-814 in 1999. Javed, a close associate of United Jihad Council (UJC) chief Syed Salahuddin and underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, was arrested during an operation in the Kishtwar district of Kashmir. According to police, he returned recently from Pakistan via Nepal and was recruiting youth for militant attacks. The Indian Airlines plane was hijacked en route to Delhi from Kathmandu with 180 people on board.