NEW DELHI, SEPT. 28. An aircraft operated by Vega Airlines, a private Bulgarian cargo company, carrying explosives and ammunition to "combat" the Maoists in Nepal, has been sitting at an Indian airport since Saturday, awaiting permission to fly out to Kathmandu.

This newspaper has been reliably told that the United States Government engaged Vega Airlines, which mostly has Russian-made AN-12 aircraft (see the Airlines' website www.vegaair.com) in its fleet, to ferry the explosives and ammunition to Kathmandu for an "anti-terrorist" training facility in Nepal.

Sources in the Ministry of External Affairs claimed that the aircraft had not been "detained" while officials in the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) told The Hindu that "as of 9.30 am this morning" the aircraft was at an Indian airport.

``Ghosts of Purulia''


At least two sources confirmed that the aircraft was sitting at the Ahmedabad airport, but N.S. Jaldhari, Ahmedabad airport director, was reluctant to give away any information. He initially said he had no information, but later denied that any aircraft had been "detained."

A source in the Indian security establishment said that the "ghosts of Purulia," the sensational arms drop in Purulia district of West Bengal in December 1995, had not been forgotten in New Delhi. The fact that the Purulia arms drop was by an AN-26 aircraft, operated by a five-member Latvian crew, is a parallel that few would ignore.

The source also said that detailed procedures had been put in place at Indian airports following the Purulia arms drop, which even entitled aviation authorities to ask any aircraft overflying Indian air space to land and match its cargo with its manifest.

Clearance not received


The DGCA, at least, is not taking any chances with the Vega Airlines' aircraft. "As of 9.30 am this morning, we have not received clearance from the Ministry of External Affairs to let this aircraft go," the DGCA officials told this correspondent.

When it was pointed out that the aircraft had been sitting in Ahmedabad since the weekend, the officials responded, "Let it sit." The officials said clearance from a "number of agencies" had to be obtained in such cases.

Clearly, the Vega Airlines case signals that the U.S. Government, while discussing the Nepal situation with India, is also acting on its own as far as building up an anti-terrorist capability in the Himalayan kingdom is concerned. In the past, India has not hidden its irritation as far as foreign involvement in Nepal is concerned.

The fact that arms supplied by the United States are making their way to Nepal does not, however, surprise officials in the External Affairs Ministry. However, it appears that the establishment is not so sure in the case of the Vega Airlines aircraft.

Denial


When this correspondent contacted Angel Petrov, Vega Airlines' Commercial Director in Sofia, Bulgaria, by telephone, Mr. Petrov first denied that any Vega aircraft was at an Indian airport. When pressed, Mr. Petrov said he would see "what information could be shared" about the aircraft and asked this correspondent to send him an e-mail.

Since the e-mails kept bouncing back, this correspondent again telephoned the Vega Airlines office only to be told that Mr. Petrov was in a "meeting."

A detailed message providing this writer's contact numbers was left at the Vega Airlines office, but no further response was forthcoming till the time of writing.

Given the fact that governments do not want to be seen sending arms and ammunition to other countries, the use of a private charter aircraft would hardly come as a surprise. An element of "deniability" is built into such an arrangement, which governments could easily invoke if and when required.