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What gives the hijackers the upper hand?

Neena Haridas in New Delhi

Five hijackers with a kitchen knife, a 1940-made pistol and a hand grenade. They have managed to hold an aircraft and 157 lives at ransom for nearly 50 hours now.

What gives them the upper hand?

Union Civil Aviation Minister Sharad Yadav feels it is their professionalism. "I think they are very strong-headed people," he told rediff.com "They are clever and cunning. Above all they are ruthless."

The Indian government has gathered bits and pieces of information from the passengers who were released in Dubai.

"The hijackers seem to have used a well-oiled strategy to make sure that the passengers don't unite and retaliate. The passengers were isolated and prevented from talking to each other. They were threatened with knives at frequent intervals and asked to keep their heads bowed," Yadav said.

"They were told not to ask any questions or face the consequences," he continued. "In fact, when Rupin Katyal and six others tried to lift their heads, they were ruthless enough to tie them up and stab them. Unfortunately, it proved fatal for Rupin."

"They seem to have used the fear psychosis strategy to keep the passengers subdued. Otherwise, do you think it is possible for five persons to control an entire aircraft with 184 people? I think they have been quite successful is scaring the passengers. With Rupin's death, the message was driven home that they were ruthless," the minister commented.

"The isolation method is often a very effective strategy used by terrorists. They separate the family members and they do not part with any information regarding the relatives or spouses to one another. In effect, the people are mentally weakened and become paranoid. They start believing that any bad move will cost the life of his/her relative. This seems to have been the case here too," the minister added.

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