Staff Correspondent

A mother faked a bomb threat on a Dhaka-Kathmandu Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight yesterday (12 July) to stop her married son from flying to Kathmandu with his girlfriend, according to the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).

"Due to the bomb threat, flight BG-373 underwent an intensive three-hour search. However, no bomb was found on the aircraft," RAB Director General (DG) AKM Shahidur Rahman said at a press conference held at Karwan Bazar in the capital this morning (12 July).

He said the elite force has arrested three people so far in connection with this incident.

"Air traffic control was informed via phone call yesterday (11 July) that there was a bomb on a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight from Dhaka to Kathmandu. As a result, the flight was suspended, and after three to four hours of searching, nothing was found. Several similar incidents had occurred previously where bomb threats were made by telephone, but subsequent searches yielded nothing," said the RAB DG. 

He said immediately after this incident, RAB started an investigation and conducted overnight operations, leading to the arrest of three people. 

"The army and other intelligence agencies assisted RAB in this operation," said Shahidur. 

He said the investigation revealed a person named Emon was traveling to Nepal on this flight with his extramarital partner. Emon's mother and wife learned about this and tried to stop his journey, but they were unsuccessful. 

"Then another friend of Emon named Imran advised them that if they called air traffic control and reported a bomb on the plane, the journey could be suspended. Accordingly, Emon's mother called air traffic control and reported the bomb threat," Shahidur said. 

The RAB DG further said they want to inform the nation that this is a despicable act. "Such actions damage the country's image and harm the reputation of our national airline. Such attempts should never be made in the future. If they are made, strict punishment will be imposed," he said. 

The Biman Bangladesh flight BG-373 was scheduled to depart from Dhaka to Kathmandu yesterday afternoon. At that time, a bomb threat call came from an unknown number. 

The aircraft was taxiing with 142 passengers and seven crew members. Later, the Air Force Task Force and AVSEC quickly formed a security perimeter around the aircraft, and the Bangladesh Air Force's bomb disposal team and the Armed Police Battalion (APBn)'s dog squad arrived at the scene. 

RAB's bomb disposal team then joined them to inspect the aircraft's interior and luggage. All passengers were safely evacuated from the aircraft and sent to the lounge after screening.

The security search concluded at 7:58pm, and no explosives or suspicious objects were found.