Filmmaker Anubhav Sinha’s latest web series, “IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack”, which premiered on Netflix on August 29, has caused a furor on social media. The series, based on the December 1999 hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight 814, has drawn criticism from a certain section for allegedly changing the names of two of the hijackers to “Bhola” and “Shankar”. However, the names in question were actually the codenames used by the hijackers during the incident.

Netflix India’s content head Monika Shergill has been summoned by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting over the allegations.

The Indian Airlines flight was travelling from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, to Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi. The flight was diverted multiple times before ultimately landing in Kandahar, Afghanistan, which was under Taliban control at the time. In the series, the hijackers are referred to as Chief, Doctor, Burger, Bhola, and Shankar. The use of the names Bhola and Shankar in particular has sparked outrage on social media, with some users accusing the filmmaker of deliberately giving Hindu names to Muslim hijackers, distorting facts and potentially hurting religious sentiments.

The series is based on the book “Flight into Fear: The Captain’s Story”, co-written by journalist Srinjoy Chowdhury and Devi Sharan, the captain of the IC 814 flight.

The Union Home Ministry issued a statement on January 6, 2000, revealing the identities of the hijackers: Ibrahim Athar from Bahawalpur, Shahid Akhtar Sayed from Gulshan Iqbal, Karachi, Sunny Ahmed Qazi from Defence Area, Karachi, Mistri Zahoor Ibrahim from Akhtar Colony, Karachi, and Shakir from Sukkur City.

However, the passengers on the plane knew the hijackers by their codenames – Chief, Doctor, Burger, Bhola, and Shankar – which they used when communicating with one another. Several journalists who reported on the week-long hijacking back in 1999 have taken to social media to confirm that passengers had informed them about the codenames used by the hijackers.

Despite this, BJP leader Amit Malviya criticised the series for using these names. “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. Left’s agenda to whitewash the crimes of Pakistani terrorists, all Muslims, served. This is the power of cinema, which the Communists have been using aggressively, since the 70s. Perhaps even earlier. This will not just weaken / put in question India’s security apparatus in the long run, but also shift the blame away from the religious cohort, that is responsible for all the bloodshed,” the BJP’s IT cell head stated in a post on X on Sunday.

Sharing the post by Malviya, actor and Mandi MP Kangana Ranaut claimed that “censorship is only for some of us, who don’t want tukde of this nation”. A part of her X post said that “one can even distort real life events to suit their politically motivated sinister motives, there is all the freedom for communists or leftists across the world for such anti-national expressions”.

Another BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar, said, “I vividly remember IC-814. I was very aware of that accident and very involved in following that. Every man and woman in India and indeed in South Asia knows that the hijack of IC-814 from Kathmandu was committed by Pakistan’s ISI-backed terrorists. Now, nobody thinks that there were some people from India who did the hijacking. So how the people have Hindu names in that movie, I don’t know. But I’m very happy that the I&B Ministry and the GoI have taken cognizance of this and have summoned Netflix.”

Indian Airlines flight 814, which was travelling from Kathmandu to New Delhi, was hijacked on December 24, 1999, shortly after taking off by five armed terrorists associated with the Pakistan-based militant group Harkat-ul-Mujahideen.

The hijackers forced the plane to divert multiple times, initially directing it to Amritsar, India, then to Lahore, Pakistan, and later to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where 27 passengers were released, including one critically injured hostage who later died. Eventually, the flight landed in Kandahar, Afghanistan, which was under Taliban rule at the time.

The hijackers demanded the release of 36 militants held in Indian jails, along with $200 million and the remains of a deceased militant. After intense negotiations between the hijackers, the Indian government, and Taliban representatives, the Indian government agreed to release three high-profile terrorists: Maulana Masood Azhar, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, and Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar.

On December 31, 1999, the three militants were handed over in exchange for the release of the remaining passengers and crew members. The hijackers, however, managed to escape to Pakistan, further straining already tense relations between India and Pakistan.