Filmmaker Anubhav Sinha’s new web series ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack Story’, which premiered on Netflix on August 29, has sparked a furore on social media. The series, based on the hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight 814 in December 1999, is being criticized by a section on social media for allegedly changing the names of the hijackers to Hindu names.
‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’ on Netflix shows the story of the hijacking of Indian Airlines plane IC 814. This hijacking happened on 24 December 1999. The Indian Airlines flight flying from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal to Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi was hijacked by five terrorists.
Codenames of the hijackers
The plane was hijacked and forced to land at several places. Finally, the plane stopped in Kandahar, Afghanistan, which was under the control of the Taliban. In the series, the hijackers are referred to as Chief, Doctor, Burger, Bhola and Shankar. Many people on social media expressed anger and disappointment over the names of Bhola and Shankar. People alleged that the filmmaker deliberately named the hijackers as Hindus, even though they were Muslims.
Some people on social media have accused Anubhav Sinha of misrepresenting facts and potentially inciting religious sentiments.
what the FAC?
According to a statement issued by the Union Home Ministry on January 6, 2000, the real names of the kidnappers were:
-Ibrahim Athar, Bahawalpur
-Shahid Akhtar Saeed, Gulshan Iqbal, Karachi
-Sunny Ahmed Qazi, Defence Area, Karachi
-Mistry Zahoor Ibrahim, Akhtar Colony, Karachi
-Shakir, Sukkur City
what is the truth
The MEA release states that for the passengers on board the hijacked plane, the hijackers had given themselves code names – Chief, Doctor, Burger, Bhola and Shankar. These were the names they used to call each other during the hijacking. So, to say that the filmmakers had changed the names would not be correct. The names were used by two hijackers for code names during the incident.
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The Netflix series is based on the book ‘Flight Into Fear: The Captain’s Story’ written by journalist Srinjoy Chowdhury and Devi Sharan (captain of IC 814 flight), the series stars Vijay Verma, Naseeruddin Shah, Pankaj Kapur, Manoj Pahwa, Arvind Swami, Anupam Tripathi, Dia Mirza, Patralekhaa, Amrita Puri, Divyendu Bhattacharya, Kumud Mishra in lead roles.
IC 814: Kandahar hijacking
Indian Airlines Flight 814 from Kathmandu to New Delhi was hijacked by five armed terrorists of the Pakistan-based terrorist group Harkat-ul-Mujahideen shortly after take-off on December 24, 1999.
The hijackers forced the aircraft to change its route several times, first to Amritsar, then to Lahore, and later to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where 27 passengers were released in exchange for refueling, including a seriously injured hostage who later succumbed to his injuries.
The passenger had clashed with a hijacker in the plane, during which the terrorist’s knife hit the passenger’s neck. Due to which one of his veins was cut. He was bleeding. In such a situation, the hijackers disembarked him in Dubai itself. The passenger was identified as 25-year-old Rupen Katyal. He later died. Eventually, the plane landed in Kandahar, Afghanistan, which was under the control of the Taliban at that time.
The kidnappers had made this demand
The kidnappers demanded the release of 36 terrorists held in Indian jails, US$200 million in cash and the remains of a dead terrorist. Intense negotiations were held between the kidnappers, the Indian government and Taliban representatives. After several days of tense standoff and risk to the lives of the hostages, the Indian government agreed to release three high-profile terrorists.
Jaswant Singh was the foreign minister in the then Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. Maulana Masood Azhar, Ahmed Zargar and Sheikh Ahmed Omar Saeed, who were lodged in three different jails of India, were taken out and the foreign minister himself reached Kandahar with those three terrorists by a special plane. On December 31, 1999, after confirming the identity of the three, Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Maulana Masood Azhar, Ahmed Zargar and Sheikh Ahmed Omar Saeed were released in Kandahar in the presence of the Taliban. However, the hijackers were allowed to flee to Pakistan.
Source (PTI) (NDTV) (HINDUSTANTIMES)