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In the recent Netflix series IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack, it was shown that a high-profile passenger’s identity was kept a secret even in official communications after the hijack. Nearly 200 passengers were taken hostage by five terrorists, who took control of an Indian Airlines flight from Kathmandu and diverted it to Kandahar in Afghanistan. This is where on-ground negotiations took place with Indian authorities, led by now NSA Ajit Doval.
In an interview with Barkha Dutt on her Mojo Story YouTube channel, former R&AW chief AS Dulat spoke about the mysterious ‘ghost passenger of IC 814’, and revealed his identity. He also addressed why the VIP’s involvement in the hijack was kept a secret even in internal communications. The passenger in question, who had reportedly been assigned the seat 16C, was Shashi Bhushan Singh Tomar, then the R&AW station chief in Kathmandu. But his name wasn’t revealed when the government made public the manifest of the hijacked flight. The officer also happened to have two brothers-in-law working in high positions — one in the PMO, and the other was the head of the NSG.
Also read – IC 814 The Kandahar Hijack: In the best Indian show of the year, Anubhav Sinha puts ‘babugiri’ on blast
Asked if the R&AW officer’s presence on the flight was the reason why commandos weren’t deployed when it was grounded in Amritsar, Dulat said, “NK Singh, we were both in the PMO, was certainly concerned. But that concern was only exhibited to me. He would ask me now and then, what’s happening. I understood why he was worried, because it was his sister’s husband. But at that point of time, let me tell you, when the plane was in Amritsar, nobody in government knew that there was an R&AW officer on board that flight. I knew, but nobody else did. I didn’t tell anybody. There was no need to tell anybody, there was no need to advertise it.”
He continued, “Gradually, it became known. NK’s stress and tension… It became known. But it was known to very few people. We didn’t want to advertise it. The ISI and Taliban didn’t know at all, otherwise that poor fellow might have been beheaded. Nobody knew. Till Tomar came back to Delhi, nobody knew. And that is the reason we never spoke about it and never advertised it. His life would’ve been in jeopardy.”
If the hijackers had known that there was a spy on board, Dulat said, “He would’ve been blindfolded, a knife kept to his neck, and they would’ve said, ‘Now talk’.” He said that even during the negotiations, Tomar’s identity wasn’t known to anybody involved. Dulat met Tomar when he returned to Delhi, and told him, “Sorry for whatever’s happened. How are you?” Tomar told Dulat, “I just sat quietly, and I didn’t look those guys in the eye at all.” He also told Dulat that in the final few days of the standoff, he stopped eating because ‘going to the toilet’ became a problem.
Dulat also dismissed the show’s assertion that a junior R&AW officer had warned Tomar about having heard chatter about a possible hijack in advance, but wasn’t taken seriously. “No, there was no such information. This is all hogwash, as far as I am concerned. I’ve seen (the show), and that person goes around bashing up Nepalese. We don’t do these things, nor was any Nepalese bashed up. A crucial point is being missed. Poor Tomar is being blamed for having intelligence and not taking action. Now, if he knew that a hijack was imminent, would he have been on that plane?”
Directed by Anubhav Sinha, IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack was released on Netflix to positive reviews, but some backlash for its perceived misrepresentation of the hijackers’ identities.
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