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CBI is not saying if Mohammed was 'Burger'

Onkar Singh in New Delhi

Senior Central Bureau of Investigation officers are saying nothing about the claim made by Jammu and Kashmir police that the fidayeen who led the assault on Parliament on December 13 was also involved in the hijacking an Indian Airlines plane in December 1999.

Inspector General of Police (Kashmir range) K Rajendran had told rediff.com on Monday that Mohammed, the leader of the suicide squad that struck Parliament, was among the five hijackers who had taken a Kathmandu-Delhi IA flight to Kandahar.

The leader of the hijack team, who had negotiated with the government for the release of some top militants, was identified as 'Burger.' The J&K police believe that 'Burger' was Mohammed's code name when he hijacked the plane.

"The Delhi police has got in touch with us and we are in the process of investigating the matter," said a senior CBI officer.

CBI Joint Director R N Savani, who led the investigations into the hijacking case, could not be contacted.

A top-ranking official of Jammu and Kashmir police told rediff.com on Tuesday that they had picked a man matching the description of Tariq - the conduit between Gazi Baba, Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar's right hand man in Kashmir, and Mohammed Afzal, the terrorist group's coordinator in Delhi.

Delhi police officers connected with the investigations, meanwhile, are not willing to reveal anything more than what is already known.

"We are on the right track. You could contact us later in the day," said a senior Delhi police official before rushing off to an important meeting at the home ministry.

Complete Coverage: The Attack on Parliament

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