Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi

A year after the hijack of IC 814, the government is yet to implement credible anti-hijack measures, top civil aviation ministry sources have indicated.

A former director-general of civil aviation told rediff.com that in the early eighties, the then aviation minister, Bhagwat Jha Azad, had mooted the idea of having sky marshals aboard aircraft.

"Despite discussions in the ministry, it never really took root," the official pointed out.

He said after the hijack, the ministry once again pulled out the idea from cold storage.

"Despite a lot of noise, the idea continues to be in the conceptual stage even a year after the hijack," the official underscored.

After the idea was first mooted, there was, in subsequent years, a 'direct recruitment' drive for suitable candidates who would be on deputation.

The recruitment was to have been done by the Bureau of Civil Aviation security, the official pointed out, and the proposal was have to two of them deployed on every commercial flight.

However, since carrying firearms on board was prohibited, the sky marshals were to rely on martial arts skill to overpower the hijackers.

According to the official, "somehow the decision is yet to be implemented".

Another senior official at the home ministry contended that intelligence agencies like the Research and Analysis Wing and the Intelligence Bureau provided "crucial inputs about international terrorists who were potential skyjackers."

The latest on the front is that the government is studying the US's anti-hijack measures, since the two countries have agreed to co-operate against international terrorism.

Although civil aviation officials say the nation will have a "cogent strategy soon" to prevent hijacks, the chances of 'another Kandahar' cannot be ruled out altogether.

The Hijack: One Year On