Almost 16 years after an Indian Airlines aircraft was hijacked in Kandahar, the tough measures were cleared by the Cabinet at its meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi through amendments in the Anti-Hijacking Bill, 2014. In the earlier Bill, hijackers could be tried for <g data-gr-id="28">death</g> penalty only in the event of <g data-gr-id="29">death</g> of hostages, such as flight crew, passengers and security personnel.
Besides broadening the definition of hijacking, the Anti-Hijacking Bill, 2015 also provides for an enhanced punishment to the perpetrators as well as the area of jurisdiction, official sources said.
“Following the amendments, the perpetrators of the act (hijacking) would now be punishable with death penalty where such an act result in the death of any person. It also provides for confiscation of movable and immovable properties of the offenders,” they said.
The definition of hijacking has been widened to include in its purview individuals acting in concert with hijackers.
The Anti-Hijacking Bill 2014, introduced in Rajya Sabha in December last, was referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture.
The parliamentary panel submitted its report in March this year, wherein it had suggested various changes including making hoax calls a punishable offence and providing adequate compensation for victims of hijacking.
Foreign investment in AIFs gets nod
To attract more overseas money into the country, the Union Cabinet has cleared a <g data-gr-id="54">roposal</g> allowing foreign entities to invest in Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs). The decision will help make available more funds to start-ups, early stage ventures, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which are generally considered as <g data-gr-id="43">high risk</g> investments.