Netflix's 'IC 814' web series courts controversy: Here's the real story of Kandahar hijack of 1999

File photo: Armed Taliban fighters pass the hijacked Indian Airlines jet at Kandahar Airport December 27 (Reuters)

Netflix web series 'IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack', based on the 1999 hijacking of an Indian Airlines flight, is in the eye of the storm for allegedly changing the names of terrorists involved in the incident. The controversy and buzz around the web series have revived harrowing memories of the seven days when 155 passengers and crew were held captive by five heavily armed terrorists inside an Indian Airlines plane. The then Indian government, led by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, used all its diplomatic might to handle the tense situation. The hostage crisis finally ended on December 31, 1999 when the Indian government released three dreaded terrorists in exchange for the safe return of the passengers.

Here's the complete story of the hijacking of flight IC 814:

'We have seized the aircraft ...'

On December 24, 1999, Indian Airlines Flight 814, a Boeing 737, was on a routine journey from Nepal's capital Kathmandu to New Delhi. The flight was carrying 155 passengers as well as crew and was piloted by Captain Devi Sharan. What began as a typical evening flight soon spiraled into a nightmare that kept a nation on the edge for several days.

As the plane was cruising at 33,000 feet over northern India, five terrorists belonging to the Pakistani-based group Harkat-ul-Mujahideen seized control of the flight. The hijackers, equipped with assault rifles and grenades, stormed the cockpit and threatened to kill everyone on board if their demands were not met. They were seeking the release of several dreaded terrorists imprisoned in India, including JeM founder Masood Azhar.

According to the book titled 'IC 814 Hijacked: The Inside Story', written by flight engineer Anil K Jaggia and journalist Saurabh Shukla, one of the hijackers forced his way into the cockpit around half-an-hour after the flight took off. This left Captain Devi Sharan and Jaggia in a state of shock. He also recounted the hijacker's chilling words: 'Koi hoshiyari nahin karega. Koi hilega nahin. Tayyara hamare kabaze main hain'. (Nobody move or try to act smart, we have seized the aircraft.)

Relatives of passengers try to enter the headquaters of the Civil Aviation ministry in New Delhi (Reuters)

Flight taken to Amritsar

The hijackers then directed the pilot to "fly west" towards Lahore in Pakistan. However, the authorities in Lahore refused to give permission for landing. Captain Sharan then told the hijackers that the plane was running low on fuel and could not go further. The flight was then taken to Amritsar in Punjab for refueling.

After flight IC 814 landed in Amritsar, the local authorities were instructed to delay the aircraft’s refueling as part of the hijacking contingency plan. Agitated by the delay, the hijackers threatened to execute bound hostages and even attacked a passenger.

At 7.45 pm, local Punjab Police Commandos were placed on standby to accompany the fuel-reloading vehicles towards the plane. The initial suggestion was to deflate the plane's tires in order to immobilise it. A fuel tanker, sent to block the aircraft's path, was ordered by the ATC to slow down as it was speeding towards the plane. On receiving this order, the tanker came to a halt. The hijackers suspected that the refuelling process would prevent their departure and ordered Captain Sharan to take off immediately. This resulted in the plane narrowly avoiding hitting the fuel tanker on the runway.

“I told them that I cannot take off because I am in the middle of the runway. They asked me to crash the aircraft. I had no choice but to take a calculated risk,” Captain Sharan later recalled.

Two stops before final destination

The aircraft reached Lahore at 8.01 pm after the ATC finally allowed it to land. The ministry of external affairs later said that the permission was given only when the pilot informed ATC Lahore that he would be forced to crash-land as fuel was almost exhausted. Notably, ties between India and Pakistan were tense during that time as both countries had just fought the Kargil war. The plane was then refuelled in Lahore.

Freed passengers of the hijacked plane exit the aircraft after a 7-day nightmare (Reuters)

After several tense hours, the hijackers decided to continue their mission at around 10:32, pushing the aircraft towards Kabul. However, Kabul informed them that there was no night landing facilities at the airport. Thus, the plane had to leave for Dubai. In Dubai, the situation took another turn as the hijackers demanded that the plane be refueled for a final leg of the journey to Afghanistan. The aircraft was given permission to refuel, and the crew, in coordination with the authorities, worked under duress to ensure the safety of everyone on board.

After talks with UAE authorities, the hijackers agreed to release 27 passengers - mainly women and children. They also handed over the dead body of a passenger (Rupin Katyal) who had succumbed to his injuries.

Kandahar ordeal & release of passengers

Around 6.20am, the plane then headed to its final destination — Afghanistan's Kandahar. In 1999, Afghanistan was under strict Taliban rule and India had cut off diplomatic ties with Kabul. This complicated matters for the Indian team sent to deal with the situation. Negotiations between the hijackers and Indian authorities began in Kandahar while the plane was surrounded by Taliban fighters.

Afghanistan's Taliban fighters pray near the hijacked Indian Airlines jet at Kandahar Airport (Reuters)

Initially, the hijackers made a long list of demands, including the release of 36 terrorists. They also wanted the coffin of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen leader Sajad Afghani and $200 million. The Taliban government, which was also involved in the negotiations, convinced the hijackers to drop the latter two demands, calling them "un-Islamic". Following intense negotiations from both sides, India finally agreed to the release of three terrorists: Masood Azhar, Mushtaq Zargar and Omar Shaikh. Then external affairs minister Jaswant Singh escorted the terrorists to Kandahar himself. All passengers and crew were finally released unharmed. The hijackers surrendered their weapons and were taken to the Pakistan border by the Taliban.

Later, the MEA released a detailed statement about the hijacking in Parliament. The statement can be accessed here.

In its statement, it said that the hijacking incident has once again highlighted the complicity of Pakistan and of organisations patronised and supported by it in terrorist acts against India.

"All the four [hijackers], two of whom are Pakistan nationals, belong to the Harkat ul Mujaheedin. Their interrogation has established that the hijacking was masterminded by Pakistan's ISI with the assistance of the Harkat. It was further revealed that all the five hijackers were also Pakistanis. The hijackers are now believed to be in Pakistan," it said.