Action will be taken against fake flight bomb informer if identified: home advisor

The advisor confirms that the investigation is under way to track down those responsible for the hoax

The security threat on a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight arriving from Rome was “based on false information”, Home Advisor Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury has said.

“This is fake news. Nothing happened, it was based on false information. " he told journalists during an inspection of the Department of Agricultural Marketing and Agricultural Information Service, or AIS, in Dhaka’s Khamar Bari on Wednesday afternoon.

“Efforts are under way to identify those responsible, and once identified, they will be brought under the law."

A Biman flight carrying 250 passengers and 13 crew members landed at Shahjalal International Airport at 9:20am on Wednesday.

The threat of explosives had been surfaced before the flight’s arrival.

In a Facebook post, the DMP said a duty officer of the Airport Armed Police Battalion, or APBn, received a text message on WhatsApp at 4:37am on Wednesday from a Pakistani phone number.

The message claimed there were 34 kg of high-powered explosives aboard Biman’s Rome-Dhaka flight, BG-536.

Upon receiving the information, the Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime, or CTTC, Bomb Disposal Unit and Canine Unit immediately joined the search operation with the joint forces.

“We got a call from an unknown telephone number saying there was a bomb on Biman’s flight from Rome. Then we followed the proper protocol and took the necessary measures,” said Group Captain Muhammed Kamrul Islam, executive director of Dhaka airport.

A statement from Biman Bangladesh Airlines confirmed that thorough inspections of the aircraft, passengers, and baggage found no dangerous materials.

“After thorough security checks, the flight was declared clear of threats at 12:30pm. All passengers completed immigration formalities and left the airport by 1:30pm,” said the airline.