Bangladesh: Pilot arrested for plot to hijack plane, use it for terror activities

Bangladeshi authorities on Tuesday arrested a pilot who was employed with the national carrier for charges against him of plotting with terrorists to hijack or crash a plane in an attack.

The pilot has been identified as Sabbir Emam, and he has been working with the state-run Biman Bangladesh Airlines since 2014. It has been learnt that Emam was detained in Dhaka with three other suspects who are linked to a militant group. The group is believed to be the same one which carried out an attack last year at a café that left 22 people dead, including 18 foreigners.

Emam had ties to senior militants including Sarwar Jahan, who was the head of the new JMP faction, before he was killed in a police raid. Police reported that Emam and Sarwar plotted a plane attack with another man named Abdullah, who was killed in a raid in September along with six others, including his wife and children, in an apartment building in Dhaka.

According to the details provided, the Rapid Action Battalion police unit carried out an operation to arrest Emam. The unit claims that that the pilot plotted with senior extremists from Bangladesh to crash a plane into the homes of politicians or to take passengers hostage.

“He is a dangerous person and is working at a sensitive place like Bangladesh Biman, which the country’s important individuals use,” the battalion said in a statement.

Emam flew a Boeing 737 passenger jet as recently as Monday for the national carrier.

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Posted by fatimaarshad on Nov 1 2017. Filed under Latest News, World. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.