Kathmandu, Dec. 28 :     Two men were present at King Birendra?s 55th birthday reception today who had been part of the team that hijacked the first plane in Nepal. Former Prime Minister and Nepali Congress chief Girija Prasad Koirala and agriculture minister Chakra Prasad Banstole were, however, silent as the conversation kept veering back to the IC 814 hijacking. But other guests at the reception hosted by Prime Minister K.P. Bhattarai could talk of nothing else. The ministers, diplomats, politicians and business magnates of the Himalayan kingdom had gathered to celebrate their monarch?s birthday. But the atmosphere in the sprawling forecourt of the Singha Durbar was sombre, the overcast sky adding to the gloom. The royal couple were not present, having chosen to spend time in the jungles of south-central Nepal while week-long celebrations for the monarch?s birthday were on in the capital. King Birendra turns 55 tomorrow. Crown Prince Dipendra was there, however, to make up for his parents? absence. An army band played the national anthem as he walked in. Most of the guests were unhappy with the coverage of Friday?s hijacking in the Indian media, which has held Nepal primarily responsible for the incident. The lax security at the Kathmandu airport, from where the Indian Airlines flight took off, has been widely criticised in the media. The guests were also cut up with reports that a Nepali citizen, G.M. Tamrakar, was one of the hijackers. According to reports, Tamrakar bought the tickets for all the hijackers and smuggled the men into the Indian Airlines flight, bypassing security checks. He was also believed to be a close associate of the slain Nepali minister Mirza Dilshad Beg, whose links with the ISI and underworld don Dawood Ibrahim are well-known. The Nepalese media hit back today, accusing India of acting as the Big Brother. Leading papers ran reports on Tamrakar, who is in his thirties, has a business in pashmina shwals and lives at Balaju here. He has played the comedian in a few Nepali films and even had a share in a cinema theatre. The papers also published pictures of Tamrakar with his family. Nepal Samachar, a city-based daily, described the reports in the Indian media as an ?attack on the Nepalese as a nation?. Ruprekha, a pro-communist weekly, said Delhi was trying to take over Nepal?s security by focusing on the hijacking. The Opposition Nepali Congress has, however, criticised the security lapses at the Kathmandu airport and called for the resignation of the home and civil aviation ministers. The party?s leader, Koirala, along with Banstole, had been part of the team that received the hijacked Nepal plane at Forbesganj in Bihar in 1973. The aircraft was hijacked by Durga Subedi, also a senior political leader now, as part of the pro-democracy movement against the partyless panchayat regime. The official statements issued by his party apart, Koirala has so far not commented on the Indian Airlines hijacking. Nepal?s foreign minister today said the country would help India identify the hijackers.