1973 Nepal plane hijack

The aircraft was a DHC-6 Twin Otter (Registration: 9N-ABB) and was delivered to Royal Nepal Airlines brand-new in 1971.[1]

Girija Prasad Koirala was the mastermind behind the hijack. He wanted an armed fight for democracy in Nepal, but did not have sufficient funds. He met Durga Subedi, another democratic fighter, who was just released from prison, where he read about the hijacking of Japan Airlines Flight 351, for which he came up with the idea of a plane hijack to collect the funds by carrying out a similar hijack.[2][3] They received a tip from Madan Aryal worked at Nepal Rastra Bank in Biratnagar and knew that the bank would transport Indian currency by plane through Biratnagar. Nagendra Dhungel and Basanta Bhattarai joined the team to hijack the plane.[4]

Three crew members and 19 passengers were on board the flight, including Nepali actress Mala Sinha.[2]

On 10 June 1973, Nepal Rastra Bank was transporting Indian currency notes from Arrariya, India to Kathmandu via Biratnagar. It was transported to Biratnagar by land and was supposed to be taken to Kathmandu by air. At 8:30 NPT, the 19-seater Royal Nepal Airlines[5] Twin Otter passenger aircraft took off for Kathmandu from Biratnagar. The three hijackers hijacked the within five minutes of take-off. They forced the pilot to land the plane in Forbesganj, Bihar, in a grass field and took 3 million Indian rupees that belonged to the Nepalese government.[6] The hijackers who boarded the plane were Basanta Bhattarai, Durga Subedi, and Nagendra Prasad Dhungel. Girija Prasad Koirala and Chakra Prasad Bastola were involved in transporting the loot to Darjeeling and hiding it in the house of B. L. Sharma, an acquaintance of BP Koirala.[7] Ganesh Sharma, an Indian national, had driven a jeep to the landing site.[6] Other members involved who were at the field in Forbesganj were Binod Aryal, Sushil Koirala , Manahari Baral, Rajendra Dahal and Biru Lama. Three different vehicles were used in transporting the three boxes of cash to Darjeeling.[6]

The pistols that they used were illegal and had no license. They used two 32 revolvers and one 36 grenade bomb..

The plane took off immediately with the passengers after the boxes of cash were taken out. The hijackers went to Darjeeling, and then to Banaras and Mumbai. They occasionally made trips to New Delhi to meet BP Koirala, the then President of Nepali Congress. However, within a year the hijackers were arrested in India except Nagendra Dhungel. After the 1975 Emergency in India ended, they were released on bail.[6]

The aircraft flew in Nepalese skies for 41 years, before the crash of Nepal Airlines Flight 183 in 2014. The parts of the aircraft were brought to Nepalganj and were put together again and are currently being exhibited in the BP Museum based in Sundarijal in Kathmandu.[8][9]

In 2017, a political and historical documentary dealing with this incident titled Hijacking for Democracy was made and screened at the Nepal Tourism Board in Bhrikutimandap, Kathmandu.[10]

It has been alleged that the money, meant to be used in the struggle for democracy, was misused. BP Koirala himself suspected that the money was misused.[6]

Indian Airlines Flight 814

• Subedi, Durga (2018). विमान विद्रोह - एउटा राजनीतिक अपहरणको बयान (in Nepali). Kitab Publishers Pvt. Ltd., Kathmandu.

• "The skyjack that shook Panchayat"