Parliamentary Committee recommends death penalty for hijackers

NEW DELHI - A Parliamentary Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture, has recommended for death penalty for hijackers, if they caused death, and also for enhancement of the ambit of the crime to include trains and buses, along with aircrafts.

These recommendations were made by Sitaram Yechury, the head of the Parliamentary Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture and a group of MLAs to the Vice-President, Hamid Ansari on Monday.

Speaking to the media persons here on Monday, Yechury said that the capital punishment, irrespective of the situation, precluded the possibility of negotiation to save the lives of passengers and crew.

“We are of the opinion that yes, death penalty must be ordered to those who have caused death as a result of hijacking. But there is also another angle that must be kept in mind when hijacking does occur, unfortunately whenever it occurs. There are innocent lives at stakes,” said Yechury.

“So, there should be opening to negotiate the safety of these lives. If hijackers know that he is going to get death penalty then you (government) are precluding any possibility of any negotiation to save the lives of the people. Therefore, we have suggested that death penalty will be there; along with it, you have penalties like life imprisonment and other categories,” he added.

The MLAs also added that the ambit of the offence should be broadened.

“Secondly, we have recommended that ambit of hijacking should not be confined only to aircrafts. We have seen hijacking being done of railway trains, buses and etc., that should also be brought into the ambit,” said Yechury. (ANI)