Nor did they provide a list of the munitions, which were in plastic bags in the plane that had landed for refuelling on its way from Abu Dhabi to Hunyang in China.
Air traffic control and ground control at Calcutta airport have received written orders not to allow the C-130 Hercules transport aircraft to take off till further orders, sources said. “The final decision will be taken by the ministries of defence, external affairs and finance,” an official said.
The crew members, put up in a five-star hotel off EM Bypass last night, were brought to the airport in the morning where intelligence and security officials questioned them. In the afternoon, they were taken to another five-star hotel where they were interrogated till late evening.
Indian Air Force intelligence officials from Eastern Command joined the Security Control Organisation in grilling the crew members — all of them UAE air force personnel led by Major Ibrahim Samsi — for hours this evening, trying to find out if their failure to declare the weapons was deliberate.
A source suggested it could be a freak error.
A local employee filled out the form handed to India’s civil aviation authorities about the aircraft, and he probably did not understand the implications of a mis-declaration and its consequences. It’s possible, the source said, that he did not know what the cargo was. The UAE ambassador has been constantly on the phone with Delhi and with Abu Dhabi, where the UAE air force is headquartered, with the Indian ambassador too interceding with Delhi.
The officials who questioned the crew at the airport have sent their reports to Delhi. The arms, ammunition and explosives are lying in the aircraft, which has been sealed and is being guarded by IAF personnel in front of hangar 14.
Officials said the entire expense of the crew’s stay in the city was being borne by the Indian government.
08/09/09 The Telegraph
To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline
0 comments:
Post a Comment