1994 kidnappings of western tourists in India

1994 kidnappings of western tourists in India
LocationDelhi, India
Date29 September 1994 (29 September 1994)–19 October 1994 (19 October 1994)
WeaponsFirearms (guns)
Victims4
PerpetratorsHarkat-ul-Ansar (Al-Hadid), including Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh

The 1994 kidnappings of western tourists in India were the abductions of four foreign tourists in Delhi, India, between 29 September and 20 October 1994, by terrorists. The kidnappings were perpetrated by the anti-Indian terrorist group Harkat-ul-Ansar (HuA),[a] under the pseudonym of Al-Hadid, led by Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh to secure the release of HuA leaders. Sheikh was caught and ultimately imprisoned at the Tihar Jail in Delhi.[2][3] The abductees included three British citizens, Myles Croston, Paul Rideout, and Rhys Partridge, and one American, Béla Nuss; all of them were rescued unharmed by the police.[4][5]

HuA would also perpetrate the 1995 kidnapping of Western tourists in Kashmir where most of the hostages were killed with one being beheaded.[3] Sheikh was released (along with Harkat leader Masood Azhar and Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar) in 1999 in exchange for hostages of Indian Airlines Flight 814 which had been hijacked by fellow Harkat members. He would go on to kidnap and allegedly murder Daniel Pearl in 2002.

  1. ^ Harakat-ul-Mujahedeen. Center for International Security and Cooperation. Foreign Service Institute. Stanford University.
  2. ^ "Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh". Counter Extremism Project. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  3. ^ a b Rath, Saroj Kumar (2020). "Ilyas Kashmiri through the Prism of HuJI, HuA, HuM, JeM, Brigade 313 and al Qaeda". SSRN Electronic Journal. ISSN 1556-5068.
  4. ^ McGinty, Stephen. The Scotsman, 16 July 2002. "The English Islamic Terrorist". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. 16 July 2002. Archived from the original on 19 September 2005. Retrieved 22 September 2006.
  5. ^ Dugger, Celia W. (8 February 2002). "A NATION CHALLENGED: A SUSPECT; Confession in 1994 Case Evokes Pearl Abduction". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 April 2010.


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