New Delhi: The six-part Netflix series ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’, which is slowly becoming the talk of the town is based on real-life events. Starring an ensemble cast led by Naseeruddin Shah, Arvind Swamy, Pankaj Kapur, Vijay Varma, and Dia Mirza, the series shows how the flight was hijacked by terrorists to free Masood Azhar and others. On December 24, 1999, Indian Airlines Flight 814, commonly known as IC 814 was hijacked by five members of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen. The flight had 190 people on board at that time including 179 passengers and 11 crew members.
Who was Captain Devi Sharan, the person who calmly dealt with the terrorists?
In the hit Netflix series, the role of Captain Devi Sharan has been portrayed by Vijay Varma. On December 24, 1999, the flight, which was going from Kathmandu to Delhi, was hijacked by five terrorists. At the helm of the plane’s crew was Captain Devi Sharan, who was 37 years old at that time.
A new millennium was around the corner, and people were gearing up to welcome the 21st century. Captain Sharan, like many other people, was looking forward to spending a holiday with his family. He was supposed to go on a vacation, but the hijack of the plane changed everything. The plane was under the control of the terrorists for a week and the passengers and the crew were finally released on December 31.
Throughout the hijack, Captain Devi Sharan displayed impeccable bravery and strength of nerve. He knew that the fate of the passengers onboard was in his hands and he showed extreme composure whenever the terrorists threatened him or others. It is the longest hijack in the history of aviation and the terrorists were connected to Al Qaeda as they demanded the release of Masood Azhar and other criminals. Years later, in an interview with The Telegraph, Sharan would say that his biggest regret from the hijack incident was the death of one passenger whose throat was slit by the terrorists. Even after all these years, he feels the grief of the death.
Along with Srinjoy Chowdhary, Sharan has co-authored the book ‘Flight Into Fear’ in which he has shared his experiences during the hijack, and how he remained composed while also trying to keep a calm atmosphere inside the flight. The Netflix series, directed by Anubhav Sinha, is based on this book.
When Captain Devi Sharan was ready to crash the plane
In a recent interaction with CNN, Captain Devi Sharan revealed that he was prepared to crash the plane in Lahore due to a critically low fuel supply. The hijackers first took the flight to Pakistan but were denied permission to land. Then they ordered Sharan to take the plane to Amritsar. But after landing at Amritsar, the hijackers forced him to take off once again on dangerously low fuel. It reached Lahore airport where the runway lights were switched off. The plane, running out of fuel, had to land somewhere. In Sharan’s own words, “I had only one choice: to crash the plane.”
However, Sharan tried to delay the landing after he saw people on the ground. Meanwhile, the Pakistani airport authorities realised that the flight could crash and permitted it to land. When the plane landed, it had only one and a half minutes of fuel left.
Did Captain Devi Sharan ever see a ghost?
Years later, there was reportedly another incident which startled Captain Devi Sharan. In his book ‘The Maz Files: Scoops, Scams And Showdowns’, investigative journalist Mazhar Farooqui stated that Sharan had complained of ghosts in a hotel in UAE many years later. According to a Mint article, the winner of the ‘Safe Skies Award’ was staying in a hotel in Sharjah that was used by airline staff during flight layovers. As per Farooqui, Sharan was staying at the Holiday Inn on Sharjah’s King Faisal Road where he was allegedly startled by the ghostly rumours and wrote a letter to the hotel about the hauntings. The Mint article quotes Farooqui as saying that while he verified that Sharan did write letters to the hotel, he could not obtain their entire details.
In the hit Netflix series, the role of Captain Devi Sharan has been portrayed by Vijay Varma. On December 24, 1999, the flight, which was going from Kathmandu to Delhi, was hijacked by five terrorists. knowledge Knowledge News, Photos and Videos on General Knowledge
