The officials here have already sent a detailed report to New Delhi on the detained aircraft, two days after it landed and was found to be carrying a huge consignment of undeclared arms and explosives. While the aircraft has been grounded at the side of the airport, its crew has been released but strictly asked not to leave the city, customs sources at the airport told the Deccan Herald here on Tuesday.
Reports emanating from Delhi said that the UAE government made an announcement that it was in ‘constant contact’ with the Indian authorities over its Air Force plane. UAE Foreign Ministry’s Director-General Juma Al Junaibi confirmed in a statement in which he stressed the deep-rooted relations between the UAE and India and also reiterated UAE’s respect for India’s sovereignty.
The China-bound UAE cargo plane was detained and its ten crew members including the pilot were questioned when customs officials found arms and ammunition on board the aircraft after it made a scheduled transit landing at the Kolkata airport.
Cargo information
However, according to another source, the report sent to the three ministries contains information about the cargo listing all the arms and ammunition found on board. The ministries have also been sent a copy of a document from the UAE embassy before the plane landed. The document clearly stated that the aircraft was not carrying any ammunition.
Besides, details have also been submitted to the ministries on how the Delhi Regional Command gave the plane the go ahead to land in Kolkata when it had not declared the true nature of its cargo.
The concerned ministries could seek further clarifications from the UAE embassy over why the plane’s crew said there were no arms or ammunition on board. This apart, the Centre might demand answers from the Delhi Regional Command on why it gave the plane permission to land.
If the Centre is satisfied with the explanations, the plane may be permitted to fly out of the country, sources said.
On Sunday, the aircraft was flying from Abu Dhabi to Hanyang in China and later sent a request for permission to land. The ATC here asked it to identify its cargo. When the pilot said it was arms, the plane was detained in the hangar at Kolkata airport.
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