 "Netflix’s IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack: Decoding the real identity of the hijackers")
The storm over Netflix’s IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack refuses to die down. The web series faced the ire of a section of netizens who slammed the makers for depicting the hijackers calling each other by Hindu names – Bhola and Shankar.
The row escalated and the Information & Broadcasting Ministry summoned Monika Shergill, the content head of the OTT platform. Directed by Anubhav Sinha, the show recounts the hijacking of the Indian Airlines flight IC 814 in December 1999. Five hijackers took over the Delhi-bound plane about 40 minutes after it departed from the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu.
With a focus on the identity of the hijackers, let’s take a look at who were they.
Who were the 5 hijackers?
On December 24, 1999, the IC-814 flight was hijacked by five men, who forced Captain Devi Sharan to take the plane to multiple locations. It was diverted to Amritsar, Lahore, Dubai, and eventually to Kandahar in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
The plane was in Kandahar for six days before the negotiation between the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government and the hijackers was successful. For the safety of over 170 hostages including the crew, the government had to release three dreaded terrorists – Masood Azhar, Omar Saeed Sheikh, and Mushtaq Ahmad Zargar.
In January 2000, the Indian government revealed the names of the hijackers, who used code names to refer to each other on the flight.
The then Union home minister LK Advani said in a statement that the real names of those men were: Ibrahim Athar, Shahid Akhtar Sayeed, Sunny Ahmed Qazi, Mistri Zahoor Ibrahim and Shakir.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsHe said they were all from Pakistan, as per ThePrint report. The home ministry’s statement said, “To the passengers of the hijacked place these hijackers came to be known respectively as (1) Chief, (2) Doctor, (3) Burger, (4) Bhola and (5) Shankar, the names by which the hijackers invariably addressed one another.”
Qazi was “Chief”, Shakir used the alias “Doctor”, Mistri was “Burger”, Sayed was “Bhola” and Ibrahim Athar was identified as “Shankar”, as per the government.
The five hijackers reportedly belonged to the Pakistan-based terror group Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM). Mistri was responsible for the lone death on the hijacked plane. He killed 25-year-old Rupin Katyal, who was returning with his wife from their honeymoon in Kathmandu.
According to the home ministry, the identity of the hijackers was known after the arrest of four ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) operatives in Mumbai, “who comprised the support cell for the five hijackers of the Indian Airlines Plane”.
These four operatives were Mohammed Rehan and Mohammed Iqbal from Pakistan, Yasuf Nepali from Nepal and Abdul Latif, an Indian.
Many journalistic pieces at the time confirmed the hijackers used aliases. Kollattu Ravikumar, a survivor of the hijacking who worked as a merchant navy captain for a US-based firm, confirmed in an article on the Rediff news portal in 2000 that hijackers used false names.
“The four hijackers who were watching over us also had a leader called Berger. It was Berger who used to often shout. As Berger called them, I caught the names of the others - Bola, Shankar and Doctor,” he said.
ALSO READ: Netflix's IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack: The true story of the hijacking that shook India
Row over Netflix’s IC 814 series
The controversy erupted after several social media users accused the makers of the series of “whitewashing terrorism” by not mentioning the real names of the hijackers. They alleged the series released last week “distorted” facts.
BJP leader Amit Malviya wrote on X, “The hijackers of IC-814 were dreaded terrorists, who acquired aliases to hide their Muslim identities. Filmmaker Anubhav Sinha, legitimised their criminal intent, by furthering their non-Muslim names. Result? Decades later, people will think Hindus hijacked IC-814.”
The hijackers of IC-814 were dreaded terrorists, who acquired aliases to hide their Muslim identities. Filmmaker Anubhav Sinha, legitimised their criminal intent, by furthering their non-Muslim names.
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) September 1, 2024
Result?
Decades later, people will think Hindus hijacked IC-814.
Left’s…
The hashtag ‘Boycott Netflix’ started trending on X.
As the outrage grew, the ‘Hindu Sena’ outfit’s president filed a public interest litigation before the Delhi High Court, accusing the makers of distorting the religious identities of the hijackers by naming two of them as Bhola and Shankar.
What change has Netflix made?
Viewers will now see a small change while streaming the six-episode mini-series. Amid the row, Netflix has updated the opening credits of the Kandahar hijack show .
Shergill said in a statement on Tuesday, “For the benefit of audiences unfamiliar with the 1999 hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight 814, the opening disclaimer has been updated to include the real and code names of the hijackers. The code names in the series reflect those used during the actual event (sic).”
She said no other edits have been made to the series. The content chief assured Netflix is committed to representing authenticity in their stories. “India has a rich culture of storytelling, and we are committed to showcasing these stories and their authentic representation,” she was quoted as saying by India Today.
Shergill appeared before the I&B ministry on Tuesday to offer an explanation. In the meeting with ministry officials, she assured a content review and assured all future content on the platform will be sensitive to and in accordance with the nation’s sentiments, sources told India Today TV.
With inputs from agencies
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