What happened during IC-814 hijack? The focus of Netflix's new series

On December 24, 1999, Indian Airlines flight IC 814 was hijacked en route from Kathmandu to Delhi. This was India's last hijacking. Read on to find out more

On Thursday, August 29, Netflix released its highly anticipated series, IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack, reviving memories of one of the most harrowing terrorist incidents in India's history—the hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight IC-814.

A day that shook the nation: December 24, 1999

On the afternoon of December 24, 1999, five armed terrorists seized control of Indian Airlines Flight IC-814, a routine Airbus 300 flight from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, to Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi. The flight, carrying 179 passengers and 11 crew members, was thrust into a terrifying ordeal that would span more than a week, culminating in a complex web of negotiations, the release of three notorious terrorists, the involvement of the Taliban, and the tragic death of one passenger.

 

The hijacking, which exposed significant vulnerabilities in India's security apparatus, remains a critical moment in the country's modern history, raising serious questions about the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government’s response.

 

The takeoff of terror: The hijacking of IC-814

In their book, IC 814 Hijacked: The Inside Story, flight engineer Anil K Jaggia and journalist Saurabh Shukla provide a detailed account of the events aboard Flight IC-814. 

Shortly after takeoff at 4:39 pm, as the aircraft entered Indian airspace, the crew members in the cockpit were caught off guard when an intruder barged in, armed with a grenade and a revolver. Wearing a red balaclava and photochromic lenses, the terrorist’s chilling words, "Koi hoshiyari nahi karega. Koi hilega nahi. Tayyara hamare kabze mein hain" (Nobody moves or tries to act smart, we have seized the aircraft), signalling the beginning of a week-long nightmare,  as quoted by The Indian Express from the book.

  

A dangerous detour: Amritsar’s missed opportunity

By 4:56 pm, the Air Traffic Control (ATC) in Delhi was alerted to the hijacking. The terrorists demanded that the aircraft be flown to Lahore, Pakistan, but when permission was denied, the plane made an emergency landing in Amritsar at 7 pm. Here, a critical moment of the crisis unfolded. Punjab's then Director General of Police (DGP) Sarabjit Singh, tasked with managing the situation on the ground, refused to refuel the plane, suspecting foul play as the engines continued to run.

In a chaotic sequence of events, the Central Crisis Management Group (CMG) in New Delhi, responsible for coordinating the government’s response, debated various strategies, including an outlandish suggestion to puncture the aircraft’s tyres. However, no decisive action was taken. As suspicions grew among the hijackers, the aircraft took off once again, this time heading for Lahore, Pakistan, where it landed at 8:01 pm after a surprising ultimatum from the pilot, threatening to crash-land the plane due to fuel exhaustion.

A global ordeal: The journey to Dubai and Kandahar

After a brief refuelling stop in Lahore, the hijacked aircraft took off for Kabul, Afghanistan, only to be redirected to Dubai due to inadequate night landing facilities in Kabul. It was in Dubai, on December 25, that 27 passengers were released, and the body of Rupin Katyal, who had been murdered by the terrorists, was offloaded. The remaining hostages continued their harrowing journey, landing in Kandahar, Afghanistan, at 8:33 am.

For six agonising days, the world watched as the Indian government engaged in intense negotiations with the hijackers. Despite the Taliban’s involvement in the negotiations, the hijackers’ demands remained largely unchanged. Initially, they sought the release of 36 terrorists, including Masood Azhar, who would later go on to found the Jaish-e-Mohammed, the organisation responsible for the 2019 Pulwama attacks. They also demanded $200 million and the coffin of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM) leader Sajjad Afghani. 

The Taliban, despite not being recognised by India, advised the hijackers to drop their monetary and coffin demands as un-Islamic, though the demand for the release of the terrorists was not similarly condemned.

A disappointing outcome: The release of terrorists

Under mounting pressure and with no other viable options, the Indian government eventually agreed to release three high-profile terrorists: Masood Azhar, Mushtaq Zargar, and Omar Shaikh. Despite assurances from the Taliban that the hijackers and released terrorists would be treated as criminals, they were allowed to leave Afghanistan, free to continue their activities.

The hijacking came to an end on December 31, 1999, with the hostages finally returning home on two special flights. The hijacked aircraft itself returned to New Delhi on January 1, 2000, bringing to a close one of the darkest chapters in India’s battle against terrorism.

The aftermath: A nation in reflection

In the wake of the hijacking, the Indian government unequivocally condemned Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and its support for terrorist organisations, revealing that the hijacking had been masterminded by the ISI with the assistance of HuM. The government also criticised the Vajpayee administration's handling of the crisis, with allegations that key decisions were made within the Prime Minister’s Office without adequate consultation with the CMG.

This criticism was further amplified by the Opposition Congress party, which lambasted the government’s decision to release the terrorists. Yashwant Sinha, a senior leader in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), defended the decision, stating that there was no other option if they were to save the lives of the passengers. The release of the terrorists, however, remains a contentious issue, with many arguing that it set a dangerous precedent.