Anti-hijack laws to get tougher in India

New Delhi, Mar 19 : The anti-hijacking laws in India will get tougher with the government Friday approving amendments, including death penalty to hijackers.

The new amendments include awarding death penalty to hijackers, replacing life imprisonment and a fine.

It also seeks to authorize shooting down of a hijacked plane if it is intended to be used as a missile to target vital installations.

Besides, the authorities will also be able to force land a hijacked plane or halt its departure, if it had not flown out yet.

The amendments were approved in a Cabinet meeting, headed by the Prime Minister, on Friday and are likely to be placed before the Parliament in the next session of the Budget session.

A Group of Ministers, headed by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram, had earlier examined the proposals to amend the existing law.

The amendments come a decade after the Kandahar hijack, in which four terrorists had to be freed to secure the Indian plane's release.