Probe body formed

The suspect who attempted to hijack a plane of Biman Bangladesh Airlines at Chattogram airport on Sunday was identified as Md Palash Ahmed, a resident of Sonargaon in Narayanganj, according to the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).
The fingerprint of the suspected 'hijacker' matched that of a person recorded in the RAB's criminal database, said the elite force's media wing on Monday.
The suspect, Md Palash, son of Piyar Jahan Sardar, hailed from Dudhghata village under Pirijpur union of Sonargaon upazila.
He was killed during a commando operation to rescue the passengers of the plane on Sunday night. He identified himself as Mahadi before he died.
The Dubai-bound flight of the state-owned airlines, which took off from Dhaka airport landed at the Chittagong airport following the 'hijacking' attempt on Sunday evening.
All crew and passengers were evacuated safely from the flight immediately after the plane landed.
The authorities have formed a high-powered body to investigate the incident and asked it to submit its findings within the next five working days, State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Md Mahbub Ali said on Monday.
"Everything will be ascertained on the basis of the probe report," he said at a media briefing at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka.
He also said that it is not possible for anyone to pass through airport security with firearms.
Firearms would be visible on the scanners once they are passed through the scanning machines at the security checkpoints, he said while showing the multi-stage security measures at the airport to journalists.
When asked whether the hijacker was carrying a toy gun as claimed by the Chattogram Metropolitan Police (CMP), the state minister said they were still not sure about it.
Explaining the incident of 'hijacking' attempt, he said the Dubai-bound passenger flight did not make emergency landing at the Shah Amanat International Airport in Chattogram.
The route of the flight of BG-147 was Dhaka-Chattogram-Dubai and it landed there as per schedule, he said. "It was not an emergency landing."
He also said the 'hijacker' who boarded the flight in guise of a passenger was a passenger of domestic route.
His seat number was 17/A, he said.
Palash had been out of his home for long and stayed in Dhaka, but the family members knew nothing about his profession, several private television channels and online news portals reported quoting his father Piyar Jahan.
Palash was the only son among four children of his parents. He recently stayed with them for 15 days and left for Dhaka on Friday last to go to Dubai, according to media reports.
His father also told the media that Palash came home one day with a girl identifying her as film actress Shimla and introduced her as his wife. But as the family members did not accept them, they left the same day.
Piyar Jahan, however, refused to receive the body of his son for his anti-state role.
Our Chattogram correspondent adds: All stranded passengers of the plane finally left the Chittagong airport for Dubai in another flight of the Biman on Monday afternoon.
The flight took off at 1:30pm, a traffic officer of Biman Bangladesh Airlines said. A total of 65 passengers from Chattogram and 85 passengers from Dhaka left for Dubai in an alternative flight, he told the FE.
However, one passenger from Dhaka cancelled his journey following Sunday's incident, he added.
Meanwhile, the body of the suspect was sent to the Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH) morgue as an 'unidentified body'.
Nobody came to the hospital with a claim as of Monday afternoon.
Officer-in-Charge of the Patenga Police Station Utpal Barua said the body had a mark of bullet injury.
A case would be filed with the police station after receiving a complaint from the airport authority, he said.
The official said all five crew and two captains of the flight were taken to Dhaka on Sunday night. Captain Shafiq, who received threats from the attacker, is reported to have suffered mental depression.
The flight remains guarded by security personnel at the Chittagong airport and will remain there until an investigation into the incident is complete.

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