Missing plane part of possible ‘9/11-style’ terror attack on India?

According to a report in New York Times, Malaysia Airlines’ Flight MH 370 may have been hijacked with the chillingly murderous intent of crashing it into a high-value building in an Indian city in a re-run of al-Qaida’s 9/11 attack on the US. ‘And if the plane didn’t crash, where is it now?’ asks the report.  NYT report quotes Strobe Talbott, who was deputy secretary of state in the Bill Clinton administration and remains an informed and influential voice in the US capital, tweeting: ‘Malaysia plane mystery: Direction, fuel load & range now lead some to suspect hijackers planned a 9/11-type attack on an Indian city.’

Meanwhile, Indian intelligence agencies, according to reports, have cleared the five Indians on board the missing aircraft. The plane carrying 239 people, including five Indians, vanished from radar screens last Saturday one hour after taking off from Kuala Lumpur. As new information emerged that the communication system in the missing aircraft was deliberately disabled and its transponder switched off before the plane veered from its path, the probe now focused on the crew, passengers and the ground staff and sought background checks of all people on board.

‘We are still awaiting reply from all agencies, especially intelligence reports from many countries. So far, Indian and Chinese authorities have cleared the list,’ Malaysian police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said in Kuala Lumpur. Khalid said they were awaiting for an acknowledgement from several countries contacted.

Prime minister Najib Razak had said on Saturday that investigators will refocus on the crew and passengers of the plane. The list of passengers on board includes 154 Chinese, 38 Malaysians, 7 Indonesians, 6 Australians, 5 Indians, 4 Americans and 2 Canadians. Indians, including three from one family, were identified as Chetna Kolekar, 55, Swanand Kolekar, 23, Vinod Kolekar, 59, Chandrika Sharma, 51, and Kranti Shirsatha, 44.