Netflix series ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’ has been accused of misrepresenting the identities of people who hijacked Indian Airlines flight IC 814 in 1999. Some viewers were offended that two of the hijackers in the show had the names Bhola and Shankar. Amid the controversy around the series, several first-hand accounts from the incident have resurfaced. Survivor Kollattu Ravikumar's 2000 account in Rediff confirms that these were indeed the names used by the hijackers, as shown in ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’.
IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack survivor describes the hijackers
A US-based company's merchant navy captain, Ravikumar, said that he was number 13 on the waiting list when he first couldn't get a ticket for the flight. The hijackers stood up from their seats and announced that they had taken control of the plane, making the passengers believe at first that the airline was practicing a mock drill. It was not until the third day of the event that he heard the hijackers' code names.
“Their leader was the tall man sitting in the cockpit. He must have been around 40. The four hijackers who were watching over us also had a leader, called Burger. It was Burger who used to often shout. As Burger called them, I caught the names of the others — Bhola, Shankar and Doctor.”
Ravikumar also shared a description of the hijackers, “Bhola was always angry. Shankar looked like a well-built commando. But Doctor was the nicest of the hijackers. He seemed mild.”
According to Ravikumar, the hijackers—Bhola and Burger in particular—kept the passengers updated on the status of the negotiations and informed them that the Indian government had no intention of rescuing them. “Bhola walked in and out of the cockpit to abuse the government and threaten that they would kill all of us,” he recalled.
He mentioned that Burger apologised to the hostages and said, “We have nothing against you personally.”
About IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack series
Directed and co-written by Anubhav Sinha, 'IC 814: Kandahar Hijack' stars Vijay Varma, Naseeruddin Shah, Manoj Pahwa, Arvind Swami, Amrita Puri, DIa Mirza, Kumud Mushra, Arvind Swami, Patralekhaan, and several others in pivotal roles.