New Delhi, Nov 10: A hijack scare on a Kandahar-bound flight sent security officials at the Delhi airport into tizzy on Saturday after the pilot "mistakenly" pressed the 'hijack button' when it was taxiing for take-off, sources said.

The Ariana Afghan Airlines plane took off nearly two hours later after "satisfactory" security checks, they said.

While there was no immediate official reaction, the sources said the pressing of hijack button had pushed all agencies concerned, including the anti-terror force National Security Guard (NSG), into action.

NSG commandos and officials of other agencies swiftly responded to the situation and surrounded the aircraft, they said.

After a two-hour operation that created panic among passengers on board the aircraft, the plane was cleared for take-off, the sources said.

The Delhi-Kandahar FG312 flight was scheduled to depart at 3.30 pm.

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Ghaziabad (UP) (PTI): A 55-year-old criminal wanted in the case of rape and murder of his four-year-old niece was killed in a police encounter late on Sunday night in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad district, a police official said on Monday.

In the joint operation carried out by the police and Crime Branch, the accused Jeeshan, carrying a cash reward of Rs 50,000, allegedly opened fire to evade arrest, resulting in injuries to two personnel, the police said.

According to the police, at around 12 noon on April 11, Jeeshan allegedly lured the child from outside her home on the pretext of buying her toffees. He took her to his room, where he allegedly raped her and subsequently strangled her to death. Following the crime, the accused carried the body on his shoulders and dumped it under a car on an 80-foot road in the Shalimar Garden police station area before fleeing.

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Two days ago, his presence was captured on CCTV footage at Delhi railway station when he was trying to flee out of Delhi. The police received a tip-off that the accused was scheduled to meet someone near the Banthla canal in Loni, the police said.

Following this, a team of the Teela Morh police station barricaded the area, and began checking. They spotted the suspect and signalled him to stop. Upon seeing the police, Jeeshan attempted to flee. Finding himself encircled by the police, he allegedly opened fire on the police team. The police fired in self-defence, in which the accused sustained gunshot wounds. He was rushed to a hospital, where doctors declared him dead, the police said.

ACP Shalimar Garden Atul Kumar Singh said that the accused was killed in retaliatory firing and the injured policemen -- head constables Amit and Iqbal -- are out of danger.

The body of the deceased has been sent for a post-mortem examination, Singh said, and added that the police have recovered weapons and cartridges from his possession.