“Burger” has a friendly attitude and plays Antakshari…”: IC 814 hijacking survivor shared experience after receiving shawl from terrorists

In the Netflix series “IC 814: The Kandahar Hijacking,” the names of the terrorists who hijacked Air India flight IC-814 (Kathmandu-Delhi) in 1999 were changed, sparking ongoing controversy. , she shared her harrowing experience.

Pooja Kataria, who was on the flight with her husband, said that on December 24, 1999, half an hour after the plane took off from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, the five terrorists on board announced that the flight Being hijacked.

“Burger” helps passengers and lets them play “Antakshari”

Speaking to news agency ANI, Kataria said that one of the terrorists, “Berg”, was friendly to passengers and helped people by letting them play “Antakshari” during the journey.

“We were nervous. We were told to keep our heads down. We didn't even know we were in Kandahar. People were in panic, so a terrorist named 'Berg' was friendly and helped people and let them play 'Antakshari' ”. Terrorist 'doctors' gave a lot of speeches about converting to Islam,” she told ANI.

“Burger” presents a shawl to Katalia

during an interview indian expressThe female survivor said she had asked the terrorists to allow her to return home, adding that it was her birthday the next day. The terrorist codenamed “Burger” took out his shawl and gave it to her.

“December 27 is my birthday. On December 26, a terrorist saw people getting panicked and tried to calm them. Then I asked him: 'Tomorrow is my birthday. Please allow us to go home. We are Innocent. Then he pulled out the shawl he was wearing and said, 'Take this, your birthday present,'” she told The Nation.

“He came to me and said he would write on the scarf he gave me, even though I was scared. He wrote: 'To my dearest sister and her handsome husband… Hamburg, December 30, 1999.” People laughed at me for it, but I still kept that scarf as a symbol of our second birth,” she added.

Katalia Controversy on Netflix

Responding to the controversy surrounding the Netflix series, Kataria said, “This series is made for entertainment purposes and I don't know why people are offended… Maybe the (Indian) government could have tried to ban the Amritsar plane “Commando raid” then it would not be possible for it to fly out of India,” she said.

IC814's Captain Sparks Controversy on Netflix

IC814 crew chief Anil Sharma expressed his dissatisfaction with the filming and production of the show and why there must be an outcry against hurt Hindu sentiments before taking collective action.

“…They had these names from the beginning and it should be remembered that these names were not given by the filmmakers. Why they retained two names of Hindu gods that we know by name cannot be speculated as this question has already been 24 years old, maybe they have some shenanigans as the other three names are very gender neutral… Initially, Netflix got very aggressive about this but now they backtracked and issued a disclaimer why couldn't they have done it earlier? There has to be a strong protest against Hindu sentiment being hurt to take collective action? They could have done that in the first place,” he told ANI.

He further noted that the names of the pilots and crew members had been changed and some of them did not even appear in the series.

“They even changed the names of the pilots, the flight engineer, even my name. Two waitresses have been replaced and the five crew members haven't even shown up yet. I don't think I feel comfortable with this arrangement…” he added road.

What's the controversy?

IC-814 Kandahar, starring Naseeruddin Shah, Pankaj Kapur, Vijay Varma, Dia Mirza, Arvind Swamy and Dia Mirza, was well received by critics. However, some social media users called for a boycott of the series because it allegedly concealed the true identity of the terrorists involved in the 1999 incident.

In the show, the names of the terrorists are Bhola, Shankar, Doctor, Burger and Chief. The series seems to suggest that terrorists have codenames. However, the hijackers were Muslims from Pakistan. This angered many, who called it “whitewashing.”

After facing backlash, Netflix agreed to update the show's disclaimer to mention the real names of the hijackers. The decision was taken after officials from the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry met with Netflix representatives over alleged misrepresentation of facts in the new series.

1999 Kandahar hijacking

On December 24, 1999, five masked men hijacked IC 814, which flew to New Delhi 40 minutes after taking off from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu. The hijackers forced the captain to fly the plane into Pakistani airspace, but he did not obtain permission to land. The plane then landed in Amritsar with only 10 minutes of fuel remaining.

After the plane was refueled, the hijackers forced the pilot to fly the plane to Lahore. Although he did not get permission from the Pakistani air traffic control department, the pilot made a desperate landing. The air traffic control department turned off all lights and navigation equipment at the airport. But at the last minute, they got permission and refueled here and headed to Dubai. The flight landed at Al Minhad Air Base in the United Arab Emirates after being denied permission. The hijackers released 27 of the 176 passengers on board, including the body of 25-year-old Rupin Katyal, who was stabbed to death by the hijackers.

After that, the plane finally landed at the hijackers' original destination, the Taliban-controlled Kandahar Airport in Afghanistan. It was here that negotiations between the hijackers and the then Atal Bihari Vajpayee government ended on December 30 with the release of three terrorists – Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, Masoud Azhar and Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar – all hostages.