‘Bhola was always angry, Shankar looked like a commando’: When IC 814 survivor described terrorists, said ‘Doctor was nicest’

A survivor of the IC 814 hijacking had recalled that the terrorists were going by assumed names: Bhola, Shankar, Doctor, and Burger.

A still from the show IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack.

Amid controversy around the recently released Netflix series IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack, which has been accused of misrepresenting the identities of the men who hijacked Indian Airlines flight IC 814 in 1999, several first-hand accounts of the incident have resurfaced. Many survivors mentioned in interviews conducted shortly after their rescue that the hijackers used assumed names, corroborating what was shown in the series. Some of taken offence to two of the hijackers being named Bhola and Shankar in the show, but a first-hand account of survivor Kollattu Ravikumar, published in Rediff in 2000, describes not only the hijackers’ actions during the ordeal, but also confirms that two of them were, in fact, called Bhola and Shankar.

Ravikumar, a merchant navy captain working for a US-based company, recalled that he couldn’t initially secure a ticket for the flight, and was number 13 on the waitlist. He also said that the passengers initially thought that the airline was conducting a mock drill, when the hijackers got up from their seats and announced that the flight was under their control.

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It was only on the third day of the ordeal that he overheard the code names of the hijackers. “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 continued, offering 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.” He recalled that Burger even apologised to the hostages, and said, “I am sorry that you are in this situation. We have nothing against you personally.”

Taliban militia in front of the hijacked Indian Airlines IC-814 flight at Kandahar airport in December 1999. (Express archives)

Ravikumar said that the hijackers, particularly Bhola and Burger, shared updates about the negotiations with the passengers, and would tell them that the Indian government isn’t interested in saving them. “Bhola walked in and out of the cockpit to abuse the government and threaten that they would kill all of us,” he recalled. It was Bhola who announced on December 30 that a deal had been struck, and that the hostages would be released. “We are sorry for what has happened to you. It was beyond our control,” Bhola said, as the hostages got ready to disembark after a week-long stand-off.

Also read – IC 814 The Kandahar Hijack: Anubhav Sinha reveals pilot was held at gunpoint for so long, it left a permanent mark on his neck

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Directed and co-written by Anubhav Sinha, IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack opened to positive reviews. The six-episode series stars Vijay Varma, Naseeruddin Shah, Pankaj Kapur, Manoj Pahwa, Kumud Mishra and more. The hijackers are played by Rajiv Thakur, Diljohn Singh, Harry Parmar, Kunal Chopra, and Kamal Batra.

Controversy erupted around the show for concealing the hijackers’ Muslim identities. “The hijackers of IC-814 were dreaded terrorists, who acquired aliases to hide their Muslim identities. Filmmaker Anubhav Sinha, legitimised their criminal intent by furthering their non-Muslim names. Result? Decades later, people will think Hindus hijacked IC-814,” posted Amit Malviya, BJP’s IT cell head. On Monday, the I&B Ministry summoned Netflix India’s content chief, Monika Shergill, to to offer an explanation.

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