Security has been tightened at Hazrat Shah Makhdum Airport in Rajshahi after two grenade-like objects were found beside its main gate.
A passer-by spotted the two objects at around 11am on Tuesday (November 10) and told the police. As a precaution, the airport’s main gate was closed for a time. Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku, who was in the VIP lounge, was taken out through the rear gate for his safety. Members of the bomb disposal unit later destroyed the two objects.
According to police sources, Minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku landed in Rajshahi on a flight from Dhaka at 10:50am on Tuesday. He was stopping over in Rajshahi on his way to Bogura. About five minutes later, a passer-by saw two suspicious objects among the flower plants to the left of the airport’s main gate.
He told ASI Palash, a member of the patrol team of the Baya police outpost of Airport police station, who was on duty there. ASI Palash immediately informed the officer in charge of Airport police station.
Police rushed to the scene and cordoned off the area. At the same time, the airport authority and members of the Armed Police Battalion (APBn) guarding the main gate closed it as a precaution. This caused panic among passengers arriving at the airport. The mosque gate was then opened as an alternative way in and out for passengers.
Meanwhile, when the minister was told about the grenade-like objects, he was taken out through the airport’s rear gate rather than the main gate for his safety. He then set off for Bogura by road.
Police sources said three armed APBn members were on duty around the clock beside the airport’s main gate. Even so, when and by whom the two objects were left there could not be established immediately. For safety, the two grenade-like objects were moved from the airport area to an open field in Pakuria, Paba upazila, where the bomb disposal unit took the necessary precautions and destroyed them.
Md. Ghaziur Rahman, additional deputy commissioner (media) of Rajshahi Metropolitan Police, said police went to the scene quickly on hearing that two grenade-like objects were lying beside the airport’s main gate. Taking the matter seriously, the necessary steps were taken together with the airport authority and the security staff. For the safety of passengers and the public, the main gate was kept closed for a time and people were moved through another gate. The two objects were later destroyed with the help of the bomb disposal unit. Police are looking into who left them there and why.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report