IC814 series does not shy away from truth

In a period of just short of four years, between 1998 and 2001, India had to go through a series of spiralling security shockwaves. It began with the Kargil War, in which Pakistan tried to intrude and take over Indian territory but failed badly. Then came the Kandahar hijack in the last week of 1999, in which Pakistan-based and backed terrorists took over an Indian Airlines flight from Kathmandu to Delhi and commandeered it to Kabul. To release the hostages on board, the government of the day had to release three dreaded terrorists in Indian jails. Then came the horrific terror attack on the Indian parliament house, in December 2001. All three had a common factor: a complete lack of intelligence and coordination between security agencies. 

All three events inspired several books and films. The most recent one is on the IC 814 hijack, a series running on Netflix and made by director Anubhav Sinha, who has used some powerhouse acting talent as well as information from credible sources who were victims of the hijack and those reporting the story and its aftermath.

The series has kicked up some completely unfounded and unnecessary controversy, with several right-wing social media influencers attacking Sinha for using “Hindu names” for the hijackers. This is nonsensical for the simple reason that three of the five hijackers had indeed used Hindu names as aliases. This is a recorded fact not just by those who reported and wrote on the event but also by the government in its record. In the MHA note of January 6, 2000, the basic details of the entire hijack and the events leading up to it are briefly but very clearly put out. What these so-called influencers have not tried to find out is that the names of everyone, including the crew, have been fictionalised though they are all known. 

Beyond the series and this controversy surrounding it, what happened in that last week of 1999? On the one hand, the world was preparing the celebrate the welcome of a new millennium. On the other, India was also buzzing in the global media because of the fear of the Y2K ‘bug’: that computers across the world would stop working because they were not programmed to switch from 1999 to 2000 and that Indian techies had the answer to the problem. What was a dramatic week of rapidly developing events that ended in a major relief for the hostages but embarrassment for the security establishment of the country? 

The real story

The fact is simple and very public. 

The Indian Airlines flight left Kathmandu for Delhi late afternoon on December 24, 1999. It was just inside Indian airspace when the hijackers took over the aircraft with guns and explosives and forced it to go towards Lahore, but Lahore refused to give landing permission. With fuel running low, the Indian high commission and air traffic control made requests to Pakistani authorities to let the plane land but got only a refusal as a response. The crew told the hijackers that the aircraft didn’t have enough fuel to fly for long. The hijackers, who were reluctant to land in India, finally agreed to let the plan go to Amritsar to refuel. 

By this time, the Indian security apparatus was on full alert, with the crisis management group having met. The immediate plan was to block the aircraft at Amritsar and try to rescue the hostages by storming it. NSG commandoes in Delhi (that was the only base for them at the time) got delayed and Punjab Police were given the task. But the hijackers got suspicious by first the delay of the fuel tanker and then by its movement. They ordered the captain to take off immediately, threatening to kill hostages even though the captain said he needed permission. The flight left without refuelling and again headed for Lahore. 

Pakistan remained reluctant, refusing to let the plane land. It was only when the captain said he would have to crash the plane did they finally allow it to land in Lahore. There was further drama, with the Indian high commissioner rushing from Islamabad to Lahore to try and negotiate with the hijackers. But by the time he reached, the plane was refuelled and allowed to leave. 

In the meantime, the hijackers on the plane had injured a few passengers, one of them critically. Rupin Katiyal, newly married but separated from his wife on the plane by the hijackers, died of knife injuries on board. The hijackers had not thought out their plan very well: they insisted on going to Kabul, only to discover it had no night-landing facilities. In a quandary, they then forced the plane to go to Dubai. Indian authorities were now tracking the plane closely and making plans in the quickly changing scenario. There was also an increasing public clamour by the relatives of the passengers on IC 814 which was being shown live on television non-stop, adding to the government’s pressure to act.

There was some good news for the hostages and the country when the hijackers were talked into releasing some of the passengers, including the injured and the body of Katiyal.

But it was short-lived relief because early in the morning, the hijackers again forced the plane to take off and head to Kandahar in Afghanistan, which was by then under the control of the Taliban. This created an additional complication: India had not formally recognized the Taliban government and had no official representative in the war-torn country. 

The plane landed in Kandahar on Christmas, December 25, 1999. It was surrounded by armed Taliban, setting off alarms in New Delhi, where it was feared that the soldiers might be posted there to prevent any rescue attempt. 

On board the plane in the meantime, the conditions were worsening. Food & water was provided by the Taliban, but it was irregular, by several accounts. The most horrific stories were about the toilets since they were constantly being used and had become clogged and unbearably smelly and dirty. 

In New Delhi meantime, it was decided to send a team to talk to the terrorists, despite public statements that India’s policy was to not negotiate in such a situation and despite differences within the establishment over this route. A team comprising Vivek Katju, CD Sahay of R&AW and Ajit Doval of the Intelligence Bureau were sent to Kandahar. 

A series of negotiations then took place with the hijackers, whose demands included the release of dreaded terrorists held in Indian jails, the body of a dead one as well as a huge sum of cash in dollars. The demands began with the release of Masood Azhar, who was arrested in Kashmir and was in a Jammu jail. 

India refused the initial offer since the terrorists said they would release a limited number of hostages. Indian officials said all the hostages had to be released for any demands to be met. 

After a series of further talks, the terrorists then asked for the release of Masood Azhar, Mushtaq Zargar and Omar Sheikh, all three international terror operatives jailed in India. They were all released and taken by plane to Kandahar, accompanied by the then foreign minister as well other officials and a big tranche of cash, in case the need arose to pay the Taliban (which didn’t turn out to be the case).

Though the hijack ended for the hostages once the terrorists left the aircraft, for the Indian officials, the ordeal was longer. New Delhi had asked the Taliban to not let the terrorists leave their area and to arrest them for their crimes. But they had to face the disappointment of learning that the Taliban had not only disregarded the request but let the terrorists cross the border over to Pakistan. 

The relief plane that came from Delhi then took back the tormented passengers home, from a 2-hour flight that became a five-day-long torture which thankfully ended just before the millennium year dawned. 

While the Netflix series is mostly true to the overall details, there is some criticism that it overlooked the role of the ISI although, throughout the episodes from the beginning, it was obvious the Pakistanis were involved, starting from Kathmandu. 

For India, the IC814 hijacking remains a story of bureaucratic and political inertia as well as a lack of SOPs being followed combined with a series of miscommunications. The story is not an OTT serial – it is a real-life event that has given and probably still gives nightmares to everyone involved, whether those on the plane or those involved in the very difficult task of decision-making.