Ministry of Information and Broadcasting summoned the content head of Netflix India and demanded for an explanation regarding the controversy over the IC-814: The Kandahar Hijack series in connection with the depiction of the hijackers.
The Netflix India content head Monika Shergill may have to appear in person before the Ministry to provide clarifications with respect to the series released on August 29. “No one has the right to play with the sentiments of the nation,” a senior official said, confirming that an explanation had been sought.
In the six-episode series, the hijackers have been referred to as “chief”, “doctor”, “burger”, “Bhola”, and “Shankar”, pseudonyms used during the incident. Their real names were Ibrahim Athar, Shahid Akhtar Sayed, Sunny Ahmed Qazi, Mistri Zahoor Ibrahim, and Shakir, all residents of Pakistan, according to government records.
Hours after the series was launched, it triggered a sharp reaction from a large number of social media users who accused the makers of concealing the real identities of the hijackers, and misrepresenting several details of what had actually transpired. Some social media users alleged that, although at some places the real footage had been used, the series’ narrative was riddled with many fictional details. A petition has also been filed in the Delhi High Court seeking a ban on the series.
The hijacking on which the series is based took place on December 24, 1999, when the then Indian Airlines flight IC-814 carrying 179 passengers and 11 crew members from Kathmandu to Delhi was taken over by five terrorists of the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen.
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Source: The Hindu
