NEW DELHI, March 15 (Xinhua) -- A plane carrying India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah and a few Indian ministers to the northeastern state of Manipur on Wednesday was forced to return to Delhi after it developed a technical snag mid-air, sources said.

"As soon as the pilot came to know about the snag that developed suddenly mid-air, he decided to come back to Delhi without taking any risk as apart from Shah, some senior Indian ministers were on the flight," the sources said.

The flight has landed safely at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, according to the sources.

A probe has been ordered by India's civil aviation regulator as it was a VIP flight, the sources said.

Shah and the senior officials were on their way to Imphal, the capital of Manipur, to attend the oath taking ceremony of the newly-elected Chief Minister Nongthombam Biren Singh of BJP and other ministers of his cabinet.

The BJP is forming a government in Manipur in alliance with small regional parties.