Indian security quickly prepared for any situation after former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left her country due to violence following her resignation on Monday. Hasina arrived in India on an Air Force jet for safety and is expected to stay there until she is granted political asylum in another country, sources say.
How was Sheikh Hasina coming to India?
Indian Air Force radars were watching the airspace over Bangladesh and spotted a low-flying aircraft heading toward India around 3:00 pm. By 6:30 pm, the Bangladesh Air Force’s C-130 transport plane, AJAX1413, carrying Sheikh Hasina and her sister, landed at Hindon Air Base in Ghaziabad.
Sources said that two Rafale fighter jets from the 101 squadron at Hashimara air base in West Bengal were patrolling over Bihar and Jharkhand to protect Hasina’s aircraft. The IAF and Army chiefs, Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari and Gen Upendra Dwivedi, were closely monitoring the situation.
A high-level meeting took place with major security officials, including intelligence chiefs, Gen Dwivedi, and Integrated Defence Staff chief Lt Gen Johnson Philip Mathew.
At the Hindan air base, Hasina was met by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. They had a one-hour discussion about the situation in Bangladesh and her next steps.
NSA Doval then left the airbase to update a Cabinet Committee on Security, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was also briefed on the day’s developments.
