A police officer created a stir on Saturday night when he boarded a Thailand-bound flight without any travel documents at the Dhaka airport.
Sub-Inspector Ashiqur Rahman, currently working in the Dhaka range, went to the airport to see his maternal aunt off who was flying to Bangkok.
The plane’s captain refused to depart on schedule citing Ashiqur’s presence onboard as a security threat. Flight TG-340, scheduled to leave at 2am, was delayed by an hour.
Security agencies and the airport police initially tried to conceal the incident. Nur-e-Azam, the officer-in-charge of Airport police station said he was unaware of any such matter.
The incident took place only a day before the UK lifted the cargo ban it had imposed over security concerns.
Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh Chairman Air Vice Marshal M Naim Hassan told the Dhaka Tribune that they were looking into the incident seriously.
Ashiqur entered the airport wearing his uniform telling the officials there that he needed to go in for investigation purpose. He was later found onboard the flight when the plane was preparing to take off.
Flight attendants got him off the plane and handed him over to armed police.
Ashiqur later said that he had boarded the plane to see off a relative.
The incident turned out to be a major embarrassment for airport officials. They said it was a serious security breach for an international airport.
No case has so far been filed over the incident.
Thursday, April 25, 2024
