IC-814 hijacker Zahoor Ibrahim shot dead in Pakistan's Karachi: Report
Zahoor Ibrahim, one of the terrorists who hijacked the Indian Airlines plane IC-814 in 1999, was reportedly killed in Pakistan on March 1. According to media reports, two unidentified assailants shot him inside a furniture shop in Karachi's Akbar Colony. A member of the terrorist outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), Ibrahim was living in the city with the identity of Zahoor Zahid Akhund.
Shooters pumped two bullets into Ibrahim
As per multiple media reports, Ibrahim lived in Karachi and owned a furniture shop in the city. CCTV footage of the incident has emerged, showing two bike-borne assailants conducting a recce of the area. To hide their identities, they were wearing face masks and helmets. They reportedly pumped two bullets into Ibrahim before fleeing the site.
Ibrahim's killing caught ISI off-guard
The police have launched an investigation into the matter, India Today reported, adding that Ibrahim's killing had caught Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI off-guard. His funeral took place in Karachi and was attended by Rauf Asgar, the brother of JeM founder Masood Azhar, another report claimed.
What happened on December 24, 1999?
On December 24, 1999, Zahoor Ibrahim, along with four other terrorists, hijacked Indian Airlines plane IC-814 when it was on its way to Delhi from Nepal's Kathmandu. The flight was then taken to Kandahar in Afghanistan, where the hijackers got full protection from the then Taliban government in the country. The 176 passengers on board were kept hostage for seven days.
Murder of Rupin Katyal
The hijackers had brutally murdered one passenger, Rupin Katyal. His body was retrieved from the hijacked plane in UAE. It is suspected that Ibrahim was the terrorist who stabbed Katyal using a sharp object.
Hijackers demanded release of terrorists from Indian jails
In exchange for releasing the hostages, the hijackers demanded the release of terrorists Masood Azhar Alvi, Syed Omar Sheikh and Mushtaq Ahmad Zargar from Indian jails. The demand was accepted by the Indian government and the terrorists were released, who later returned to Pakistan. Masood Azhar later formed the terrorist outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad, which was involved in multiple terrorist attacks in India.
Only one terrorist involved in the hijack is alive
A Hindustan Times report citing anti-terrorism experts said that after Ibrahim's death, only one terrorist involved in the hijack is alive in Pakistan now and he has moved away from Karachi. One of the hijackers is believed to have died of natural causes, while another was gunned down by Indian security forces during the attack on Parliament on December 13, 2001.
