A still from “IC 814: The Taking of Kandahar” | Image credit: Netflix

The latest web series from Netflix IC 814: The Abduction of Kandhar ran into major turmoil earlier this week when several social media users expressed their outrage over the names of the four kidnappers in the critically acclaimed series. Responding to the outrage, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry summoned Monika Shergill, the content head of the OTT platform. The president of an organisation called ‘Hindu Sena’ has also filed a public interest litigation in the Delhi High Court. The suit alleged that the series distorts the religious identities of the kidnappers by naming two of the five kidnappers as Bhola and Shankar and demanded the cancellation of the certification of the series.

The six-part series, directed by Anubhav Sinha, depicts the hijacking of flight IC-814 on December 24, 1999, shortly after it took off from Kathmandu to Delhi. The Airbus 300 was diverted to Amritsar, Lahore, Dubai and finally to Kandahar in Afghanistan, which was under Taliban control. After six days of intense negotiations, the hijacking culminated in the NDA government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee releasing three feared terrorists – Masood Azhar, Omar Saeed Sheikh and Mushtaq Ahmad Zargar – in exchange for the safety of the passengers and crew on board.

The series is partly based on Flight into feara first-hand account of the events by the plane’s pilot, Captain Devi Sharan, co-authored with journalist Srinjoy Chowdhury. A disclaimer describes it as a work of fiction based on certain real events.

The dispute over the names of the kidnappers stems from the fact that the makers of the series took the creative liberty of not explicitly pointing out that the terrorists used code names during the kidnapping, but rather considering this as self-evident information.

Several journalistic reports from the time make it clear that the hijackers used aliases. They cite a press release issued by the Union Home Ministry on January 6, 2000, which named the hijackers as Ibrahim Athar, Shahid Akhtar Sayeed, Sunny Ahmed Qazi, Mistri Zahoor Ibrahim and Shakir and confirmed the aliases they used. “To the passengers of the hijacked aircraft, these hijackers were known as (1) Chief, (2) Doctor, (3) Burger, (4) Bhola and (5) Shankar, the names by which the hijackers invariably addressed each other,” the press release said.

Some of those outraged seem to understand the difference, and seem more concerned about the future when the details of the hijacking fade from public memory. BJP leader Amit Malviya wrote on X: “The hijackers of IC-814 were feared terrorists who adopted aliases to conceal their Muslim identities. Filmmaker Anubhav Sinha legitimized their criminal intentions by passing on their non-Muslim names. The result? Decades later, people will think Hindus hijacked IC-814.”

Although the series does not explicitly state that Bhola and Shankar are aliases, Chief is revealed when negotiations approach a deadlock. In a post on X, journalist Neelesh Misra, who has also written a book on the subject, said Chief is Masood Azhar’s brother. In the context of the narrative, Bhola and Shankar play supporting roles and are referred to by their aliases only once in six episodes.