‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’: Netflix released its highly anticipated series 'IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack' on August 29, triggering memories of one of India's most horrific terrorist incidents. The web series, which chronicles the story of the 1999 hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight IC-814, has however sparked controversy. The show has been accused of distorting facts, whitewashing terrorism, and offending public sentiment. The controversy has prompted the Indian government to summon Netflix India's content head.
What happened during IC-814 hijack?
Indian Airlines Flight IC 814 was hijacked on the afternoon of December 24, 1999, just 40 minutes after it took off. Five armed terrorists took control of IC-814, a routine Airbus 300 flight from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, to Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi. The flight had 179 passengers and 11 crew members.
The hijackers, identified as members of the Pakistan-based terrorist group Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM), diverted the plane to Kandahar, Afghanistan, which was then controlled by the Taliban. The crisis lasted eight days, and the terrorists sought the release of three high-profile militants: Maulana Masood Azhar, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, and Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar. Under intense pressure to protect the hostages' lives, the Indian government finally agreed to release the terrorists. The terrorists were personally led to Kandahar by then-External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh, a move that continues to be controversial today.
- At 4:39 p.m., when the aircraft entered Indian airspace, the crew in the cockpit were taken aback when an intruder barged in, armed with a grenade and a revolver.
- By 4:56 p.m., Air Traffic Control (ATC) in Delhi was notified of the hijack. The terrorists asked that the plane be flown to Lahore, Pakistan; however, when permission was denied, the plane made an emergency landing in Amritsar at 7 p.m.
- Here, the turning point in the crisis occurred. Sarabjit Singh, Punjab's then-Director General of Police (DGP), was tasked with managing the situation on the ground and refused to refuel the plane, suspecting foul play while the engines continued to run.
- In a chaotic sequence of events, the Central Crisis Management Group (CMG) in New Delhi examined many strategies, including the odd idea of puncturing the aircraft's tyres. However, no decisive action was undertaken.
- As the hijackers' suspicions rose, the plane took off again, this time towards Lahore, Pakistan, where it landed at 8:01 p.m. after the pilot gave an unexpected ultimatum, threatening to crash due to fuel exhaustion.
- After a brief refuelling stop in Lahore, the aircraft took out for Kabul, Afghanistan, only to be rerouted to Dubai due to insufficient night landing facilities in Kabul. On December 25, 27 passengers were released from Dubai, and the body of Rupin Katyal, who had been murdered by terrorists, was offloaded. The remaining hostages continued their tough journey, arriving in Kandahar, Afghanistan, at 8:33 a.m.
- For six painful days, the world watched as the Indian government held serious negotiations with the hijackers. Despite the Taliban's involvement in the negotiations, the hijackers' demands remained mostly intact. They initially requested the release of 36 terrorists, including Masood Azhar, who later founded Jaish-e-Mohammed, the outfit responsible for the 2019 Pulwama attacks. They also wanted $200 million and the coffin of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM) leader Sajjad Afghani.
- Despite being rejected by India, the Taliban recommended the hijackers abandon their monetary and coffin demands as un-Islamic, however, the demand for the terrorists' release was not condemned in the same way.
- Under rising pressure and with no other options, the Indian government finally agreed to release three high-profile terrorists: Masood Azhar, Mushtaq Zargar, and Omar Shaikh. Despite the Taliban's pledges that the hijackers and released terrorists would be treated as criminals, they were permitted to leave Afghanistan and continue their activities.
- The hijacking ended on December 31, 1999, with the hostages flying home on two special planes. On January 1, 2000, the hijacked aircraft returned to New Delhi, ending one of India's worst chapters in the fight against terrorism.
- With inputs from agencies
