Netflix India has updated the disclaimer for its “IC 814 Kandahar Hijack” web series to include the hijackers’ real as well as code names. Monika Shergill, the Vice President of Content for India, said, “For the benefit of audiences unfamiliar with the 1999 hijacking, the opening disclaimer has been updated… code names in the series now reflect those used during the event.”

Shergill also reiterated Netflix’s commitment to “showcasing stories with authentic representation.”

This update comes in the wake of massive backlash surrounding the series, which dramatises the 1999 hijacking of Indian Airlines flight IC-814 by the Pakistan-based terror group Harkat-ul-Mujahideen. It was released on the platform on August 29.

During the incident, five terrorists hijacked the plane and redirected it to Afghanistan, then under Taliban rule. In a dramatic resolution, the Indian government, led by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, made the controversial decision to release three terrorists—Masood Azhar, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, and Mushtaq Zargar—to secure the freedom of 154 hostages.

The series has faced criticism for allegedly changing the names of two hijackers to “Bhola” and “Shankar”, leading to accusations from hundreds of social media users.

BJP leader and IT cell chief Amit Malviya accused the creators, Anubhav Sinha and Trishant Srivastava, of attempting to whitewash the criminal actions of Pakistani terrorists by giving them Hindu names, hurting sentiments.

In January 2000, the Union Home Ministry revealed the hijackers’ real names—Ibrahim Athar, Shahid Akhtar Sayed, Sunny Ahmed Qazi, Mistri Zahoor Ibrahim, and Shakir. The ministry noted that the hijackers used code names such as ‘Bhola’ and ‘Shankar’, alongside ‘Chief’, ‘Doctor’, and ‘Burger’, during the hijacking. Journalists who covered the event confirmed that these names were indeed used among the hijackers.

The controversy over the series led to Shergill being summoned by the Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry. The government said it is taking the matter “very seriously”, and “nobody has the right to play with the Indian people’s sentiments.”

Following an hour-long meeting with government officials, Netflix India committed to aligning its future content with national sentiments. Shergill assured the Ministry that “all future content on their platform will be sensitive to and in accordance with the nation’s sentiments.”