Airport Knife Attack: The attacker's identity still unknown

Law enforcers were yet to identify the youth or his motive behind Sunday's knife attack that left an Ansar member dead and three others injured at the capital's Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, police officials said yesterday.

Members of the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit and police officials yesterday interrogated the attacker to know why he attacked security personnel at such a key point installation and whether he has links with any militant outfit.

But they couldn't glean any information from the youth aged around 30. He was wounded during a tussle with security personnel and is now under treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

He initially identified himself as Shihab from Rajshahi soon after his capture. But yesterday, he said his name is not Shihab, two police officials, who interrogated him yesterday, told The Daily Star.

They said the youth sometimes identified himself as Ripon, but later he said his name was Asad.

“He kept mum whenever he was asked to give his father's name or address. He is giving confusing information,” said one of the two officials, seeking anonymity.

A police official said they collected the youth's fingerprints on Sunday night and checked if those matched with any of the fingerprints on the national identification database.  But no information on him was found on the database as he was not on the voter list.

Ansar platoon Commander Ashraful Alam yesterday filed a murder case against the attacker.

The youth was wearing the yellow uniform of a maintenance firm tasked with keeping the airport clean.

Police later found out that he was not employed by the company.

According to the case statement, carrying a small sharp knife, the youth approached the airport's terminal no-1 from the driveway on the first floor and tried to enter the international departure lounge through gate-4.

When members of Ansar and airport Armed Police Battalion tried to stop him, he knifed Ansar member Sohag Ali to death and wounded Ansar Assistant Platoon Commander Ziaur Rahman and APBn constables Ashik and Ishtaq.

He then entered the terminal through the gate where other security men stopped him. He suffered injuries in head and legs during a tussle with the security personnel.

Ezaz Shafi, investigation officer of the case, said, “We are trying to find out the motive behind the attack.”

Asked whether the attacker had any links with militancy, he said, “We are yet to find out ... He is giving us confusing statements.”

Once he recovers, he will be produced at court with a remand prayer for interrogation, added Shafi, also inspector (investigation) of the Airport Police Station.

Earlier on October 22 last year, police captured a man after he along with another stabbed assistant sub-inspector Ibrahim Mollah at a check point in the capital's Darussalam.

The detained man pretended to be a mentally challenged person and gave confusing statements for several days after his arrest.

Later, law enforcers found out that he is a militant named Masud. On his information, police arrested a number of “Neo-JMB” militants and thwarted plots to carry out subversive activities.

SECURITY BEEFED UP

Security has been beefed up at the airport. Only passengers are allowed to enter the departure lounge on the first floor. And drivers have been told to leave the airport after dropping off passengers.

Tanjina Akhter, assistant superintendent of APBn, said people were not allowed to gather on airport premises.

The APBn official said police couldn't open fire on the attacker, as there were many passengers and visitors at the driveway on the first floor at that time.

Noor-E-Azam, officer-in-charge of the Airport Police Station, said security around the airport has been heightened with deployment of additional law enforcers.

Meanwhile, a three-member committee, headed by APBn Additional Deputy Inspector General Hasib Aziz, was formed to probe the incident.

It has been asked to submit its report within 48 hours, Tanjina said.

Earlier, the authorities had taken a number of security measures, and also employed British firm Redline Aviation Security Ltd in March to train security personnel at the airport after Australia and the UK imposed a ban on direct cargo flights from Bangladesh to any airports in the two countries. 

In June, Germany also imposed a similar ban, meaning any cargo flight from Bangladesh to Germany, the UK and Australia must be re-screened at a third-country airport.

EMERGENCY MEETING

Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Rashed Khan Menon will hold an emergency meeting with officials of all security agencies at the airport today to review the security situation there.

SOHAG'S AUTOPSY

Ansar member Sohag died of excessive bleeding from the stab wound in his chest, said sources at Dhaka Medical College morgue.

His body was handed over to his family after autopsy. The body was then taken to his village home at Kursha in Kushtia's Mirpur Upazila for burial.