IC 814 Controversy: Netflix India’s Content Head Summoned Over Web Series, Terrorists’ Names Changed to ‘Bhola’ and ‘Shankar’

IC 814 Controversy Row: Amidst a massive controversy over the web series ‘IC 814’, the government has summoned Netflix India’s content head. The controversy arose after the makers of the web series changed the names of the hijackers to ‘Bhola’ and ‘Shankar’ in the series.

The government has summoned Netflix India’s content head amidst a massive controversy over the web series ‘IC 814’, which is based on the hijacking of an Indian Airlines plane by Pakistani terrorist organization Harkat-ul-Mujahideen in 1999. The controversy arose after the makers of the web series changed the names of the hijackers to ‘Bhola’ and ‘Shankar’ in the series.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has issued a summons to the content head of Netflix India over the allegations that the makers of the web series deliberately changed the names of the hijackers. The web series is based on the book ‘Flight Into Fear: The Captain’s Story’ by Devi Sharan and journalist Srinjoy Chowdhury. The director of the series is Anubhav Sinha.

What is the story of ‘IC 814’?

The web series depicts the hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight 814 on December 24, 1999. The plane, carrying 191 passengers, took off from Kathmandu in Nepal and was headed to Delhi. Soon after takeoff, five hijackers, who were posing as passengers, took control of the plane. The plane then made several landings in Amritsar, Lahore, and Dubai before being taken to Kandahar in Afghanistan. The government, led by then-Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, was forced to release three dreaded terrorists – Masood Azhar, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, and Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar – from Indian jails to secure the release of the hostages. Reports suggest that Taliban officials helped the hijackers and released terrorists escape to Pakistan.

What were the real names of the terrorists?

On January 6, 2000, the Ministry of Home Affairs issued a statement stating that the hijackers’ names were Ibrahim Athar, Shahid Akhtar Sayed, Sunny Ahmed Qazi, Mistri Zahur Ibrahim, and Shakir. The ministry’s statement said that the hijackers used code names to conceal their identities, and the passengers came to know them as ‘Chief’, ‘Doctor’, ‘Burger’, ‘Bhola’, and ‘Shankar’ respectively.