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News18
03-06-2025
- General
- News18
Sheikh Hasina's Secret Flight: Inside Ex-Bangladesh PM's Midnight Escape To India
Last Updated: Citing civil and military aviation sources, the newspaper reported that the change in flight path was a deliberate decision intended to avoid attention. A recent report published by The Daily Star, a Bangladeshi newspaper, shed light on former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's departure from Dhaka on August 5, 2024. The report claimed that a Bangladesh Air Force aircraft carrying Sheikh Hasina was initially scheduled to land in Kolkata but was redirected mid-flight to the Hindon Air Force Station near Delhi. Military 'Training' Flight Used Citing civil and military aviation sources, the newspaper reported that the change in flight path was a deliberate decision intended to avoid attention amid escalating unrest in Bangladesh. The flight, designated as a military 'training flight," took off from the Bangabandhu Air Force Base in Dhaka shortly after 3 p.m. local time. First Destination Choice For Sheikh Hasina Was Kolkata Although a flight plan had been filed for Kolkata and shared with Indian authorities- including a transponder squawk code of 4131- the aircraft turned off its transponders after takeoff. This effectively removed the flight from civilian radar systems while maintaining communication with ground control for safety. The transponders were reactivated near the Bangladesh-India border, at which point Dhaka air traffic control handed the flight over to its counterpart in Kolkata, following standard airspace transition procedures. The Flight Landed In Delhi Then The aircraft appeared to be on course for Kolkata until shortly before crossing into Indian airspace when it changed direction toward Delhi. This route was likely selected to minimize time on the ground in Bangladesh during a volatile period, the report claimed. Indian authorities had granted overflight and landing permission in advance, in response to a request from the Bangladesh side. The aircraft eventually landed at the Hindon Air Force base in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. Who Were On Board Sheikh Hasina's Flight? Sheikh Hasina, her sister Sheikh Rehana and close aides were on board as the situation in Dhaka had deteriorated significantly with widespread violence and reports of attacks on police stations and members of the then-ruling Awami League. Watch India Pakistan Breaking News on CNN-News18. Get breaking news, in-depth analysis, and expert perspectives on everything from geopolitics to diplomacy and global trends. Stay informed with the latest world news only on News18. Download the News18 App to stay updated! First Published: June 03, 2025, 15:32 IST
NDTV
03-06-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
Secret Flight Plan, Radio Silence: How Ex PM Sheikh Hasina Fled Bangladesh
Quick Read Summary is AI generated, newsroom reviewed. Former Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina's escape on August 5, 2024, involved a secret flight from Dhaka to Ghaziabad, with transponders switched off and a fake Kolkata flight plan, to minimise attention amid violent protests. New Delhi: A Bangladesh daily has published details of ex-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina 's dramatic escape from Dhaka on August 5, 2024, and confirms what sources at Kolkata's Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose airport told this reporter - her military transport planned to land in the city but changed course. It eventually landed at the Hindon Air Force base in Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh. This, as it now appears, was calculated to avoid unwarranted attention. Media houses in India, including NDTV, initially reported she was en route to Kolkata. The plane made the detour to Delhi late - appearing to be on course for Kolkata till the last minute - because it wanted to spend as little time as possible in Bangladesh airspace. Aviation experts have confirmed planes flying from Dhaka to Delhi spend more time in Bangladeshi airspace than those to Kolkata. The Dhaka-Kolkata route a direct flightpath to the west while that to Delhi is north-westerly and spends more time in Bangladesh-controlled skies. Civil aviation sources told the Bangladeshi daily, The Daily Star, there is a hotline between Air Traffic Control in Dhaka and Kolkata to notify each other about approaching planes. The plane was designated as a 'training flight' to avoid drawing attention to her fleeing the country as a violent crowd - allegedly intent on murder - her was taking over the Gana Bhavan. ARCHIVES | Bangladesh Protesters Storm Sheikh Hasina's Palace Amid Clashes The Gana Bhavan is the former Prime Minister's official residence in Dhaka. What Happened That Day? The plane took off from the Bangladesh Air Force's Bangabandhu base a little after 3pm, after filing a fight plan to Kolkata. It was given a 'squawk code' of 4131 - the unique four-digit code assigned by an Air Traffic Control - and this was shared with Kolkata ATC, the 'destination'. However, after take-off from Dhaka, the plane turned off it transponders. which transmit identifying details like the aircraft's 'squawk code', altitude, speed, and location. It was now 'invisible' to ATC radars, whether in Dhaka, Kolkata, or anywhere else, although communication was maintained with ground control to ensure safe passage of the flight. On board were Sheikh Hasina, her sister, and others. ARCHIVES | Sheikh Rehana, Hasina's Lifelong Shadow After Massacre Killed Family The transponders were switched on only near the Bengal border, at which point Dhaka handed the plane off to Kolkata, which means the pilot had to contact the ATC to announce his arrival. This is standard practice and is usually done when a flight is close to the border. At this point Indian aviation authorities began tracking the plane - a Bangladesh Air Force C-130J aircraft - which was around 10km from the international border. Green Light From Delhi India's permission had been sought and secured; Sheikh Hasina was cleared to fly to India as the situation in Bangladesh had worsened with protesters baying for blood. ARCHIVES | Sheikh Hasina Meets NSA Doval Near Delhi, May Seek UK Asylum Police stations had been attacked and members of the then-ruling Awami League were also being targeted to complete the breakdown of law and order, leading to anarchy and violence. Hours after her plane took off from Dhaka, the ex-PM was in Ghaziabad, her arrival confirmed, after much speculation over her whereabouts, by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.
Daily Maverick
19-05-2025
- Daily Maverick
‘We warned you' — Joburg ignored years of alerts before four Mayfair toddlers died in fire
Four toddlers were burnt beyond recognition in a blaze at an overcrowded Mayfair house — one of 50 flagged slum properties ignored by Johannesburg officials for years. A ward committee member repeatedly warned the city, even submitting another dossier after the deadly Usindiso fire in 2023. No action was taken, and now a community mourns an avoidable loss. Nadia, Rehana, Patience and Precious — all aged between two and four — died in a fire at a Johannesburg slum property where at least 32 people lived in a space built for six. The city was warned. A contravention notice was issued in 2022. But enforcement never came. The Johannesburg City Council was repeatedly warned about unsafe living conditions at the Mayfair house in Ward 58, in which the four children died after being burnt beyond recognition on Monday, 19 May. Daily Maverick has documents that show how a Mayfair ward committee member, Azil Ally, sent a list of at least 50 slumlord problem properties, that included notice of unsafe electrical connections, to numerous officials and political leaders from 2021. The city issued a contravention notice to the owner of the house in 2022, but there was no follow-up, said Ally, who provided Daily Maverick with proof of the contravention notice issued by the city's inspectorate. City of Johannesburg spokesperson Nthatisi Modingoane did not immediately respond to Daily Maverick's request for comment. It will be added once received. The city's Emergency Services spokesperson, Robert Mulaudzi, said the bodies of the four little girls who died in the fire were still being identified by Monday afternoon. A community member identified them only as 'Nadia', 'Rehana', 'Patience' and 'Precious' and said they were Malawian (likely to have been born to Malawian families in South Africa). She did not know their surnames, but she lived in the house where a yet unnamed woman ran a day-care centre in her room. Four toddlers found dead on bed The children were found dead on the bed after being trapped in flames from a fire that began when a stove exploded due to what was thought to be a faulty plug connection, said Mulaudzi. The woman who ran the day-care centre, who had twins of her own, who were safe, had been taken to the Brixton Police Station for questioning, he said. House occupants said 20 people had been living in the house and there were six back rooms, with two people living in each. They rented for between R1,400 to R1,700 a space, said a woman, who wanted to be called only 'Angie'. She said the occupants were from Malawi and Zimbabwe and rented from an Ethiopian owner. 'They are being exploited. In a house built for four or six [people, you have 50 to 100 staying inside,' said Ally, describing some of the properties in the area. 'It's a disaster waiting to happen. Every second or third house is being turned into [an] overcrowded, bad building. The officials have failed and only react when four toddlers lost their lives. 'Even city properties [belonging to the Johannesburg Property Company] are hijacked in this ward. The city lets its own properties become slums,' said Ally, who has regularly sent Daily Maverick evidence of his efforts to have bylaws enforced and dangerous conditions investigated. Lawrence Moyo was called from work and rushed home. His children, one and three years old, got out safely. He and others clambered on to the roof and hammered at a wall to get inside to try to douse the flames. He used a scarf, but still suffered from smoke inhalation. Simose Nkosi, who also lived in the house, said she was sitting outside in the sun, where it was warmer, and was the first to hear the children screaming as the fire quickly spread. 'I'm shocked,' she said, still sitting on the pavement outside as the police wanted the house cleared. 'Illegal electricity connections' Resident Abdul Ntshangase said, 'The councillor only comes when there's a situation. The owners [of the house] don't even live here [another neighbour said he had moved abroad]. There are no inspectors, the infrastructure has collapsed,' he said, showing Daily Maverick how cabling revealed illegal electricity connections. 'This is a wake-up call.' Residents of the house and neighbours said they had been complaining about a faulty borehole connection and that the fire started at the distribution board. 'We are sitting on a time bomb,' said Ally, who warned after the August 2023 fire at the Usindiso shelter in Johannesburg in which 73 people died, that the problem was city-wide. He sent the Ward 58 dossier to a series of members of the mayoral committee for planning, who have regularly changed roles because of city coalition politics. 'I've sent it to the general email and to building inspectors.' 'Failed service delivery' Ally said it was hazardous to blow the whistle in Ward 58 as his home had been broken into and only his laptop, on which he documents the slumlords in the area, was stolen. On a blitz of problem properties with a previous councillor, he was openly threatened. 'What happened is really sad and all due to failed service delivery. As far back as 10 years ago, we sent up the Greater Mayfair Civic Association. Since then, we have reported slum-lording and overcrowding in our ward. I push for bylaw enforcement and for the Development Planning department to give some service to Ward 58 – which I call the lost ward in my address to council,' said Councillor Ricky Nair. 'There is no will to serve and contribute to the uplifting of our city by most employees. To turn it around, there has to be a complete mindset change in employees [public servants].' Further reading Daily Maverick has focused on Ward 58 for six years as a microcosm of the collapse of the Johannesburg inner city through official neglect and micro-state failure. The writer's family home is in Ward 58.
Express Tribune
11-05-2025
- Express Tribune
No clue to woman missing since April 15
A woman reportedly abducted from the Malir Halt area on April 15, 2025, remains missing, with her family accusing police of demanding a bribe in exchange for taking action. According to a complaint filed at Al-Falah police station, Dil Shehzad Paracha, a resident of Gulfishan Society, Malir Halt, reported that his wife, 36-year-old Rehana, has been missing since the afternoon of April 15. The case was registered under Section 496-A of the Pakistan Penal Code. Paracha, who runs a retail shop in the area, stated that he left for work at around 9am on the day of the incident. Later, at 5pm, his 13-year-old son Aqib informed him that Rehana had gone to Korangi No 1 Market at around 2pm but had not returned. Despite efforts to locate her, including repeated attempts to contact her mobile phone — which remained switched off — there has been no trace of her. The complainant suspects a man named Tauqeer, a former tenant in their neighbourhood, of abducting his wife. He further revealed that at around 9pm on the day of the disappearance, he received a disturbing phone call in which he could hear what sounded like Rehana being physically assaulted before the call abruptly ended. Paracha added that Rehana was wearing three tolas of gold jewellery when she left the house.
Express Tribune
11-05-2025
- Express Tribune
TikToker sentenced to death for murder
A district and sessions court on Saturday handed down a death sentence to famous Rawalpindi-based TikToker and social media performer Rehana, popularly known as 'Zakhmi Sherni', after she was found guilty in a murder case. The court also imposed a fine of Rs. 500,000. Additional District and Sessions Judge Farhat Jabeen ruled that the convict be hanged by the neck until death, declaring that she had committed a grave offense and was not deserving of any leniency. The case involved a family dispute over a marriage proposal, during which Zakhmi Sherni fatally shot her cousin, Lajpal Hussain Shah. Armed with a 30-bore pistol, she entered his home and opened fire. The incident was registered at Kotli Sattian Police Station on March 23, 2023. Following the murder, the convict fled along with her sister Mehnaz, who was also named in the case. However, the police arrested Rehana several months later and recovered the murder weapon from her possession. The judge announced the verdict on Saturday after it had been reserved for three days. Throughout the trial, the TikToker repeatedly created and uploaded videos to TikTok under her alias Zakhmi Sherni, often appearing in handcuffs during court appearances. Following her sentencing, Rehana was shifted to Adiala Jail. After hearing the verdict, she stated, "The decision is not fair. I will appeal to the Lahore High Court (LHC)." The case was registered by the deceased's brother, Zamir Hussain, at Kotli Sattian Police Station in Murree district. The victim, Lajpal Hussain Shah, was a resident of Sehla Syedan, Kotli Sattian. The incident occurred during a family altercation, when the accused, accompanied by her sister, entered the house and opened fire on her cousin, killing him on the spot. Several female TikTokers were present in court to witness the verdict. Rehana, throughout the trial, continued to film and upload TikTok videos from prison, often in handcuffs and set to music.
