How India deployed Rafales, gave safe passage to Sheikh Hasina

Sheikh Hasina, who landed in India on Monday (August 5) evening after fleeing her country amid an uprising against her government, was reportedly flown in amid high security provided by Indian security agencies.

On Monday, the former Bangladesh prime minister, accompanied by her sister Sheikh Rehana, left her official residence 'Ganabhavan' in a military chopper to an airbase. From the airbase, she flew into Hindon in a C-130 military transport aircraft of the Bangladesh Air Force, they said.

India decided to provide a safe passage through the Indian airspace to Hasina's aircraft following a request from Dhaka, sources said.

Close watch

According to ANI, Indian Air Force radars kept a close eye on the Dhaka air space as Hasina boarded the Air Force jet and headed for India.

While two Rafale fighter jets from the 101 Squadron at Hashimara Air Base in West Bengal were deployed over Bihar and Jharkhand to ensure her security, ground agencies kept a constant watch over the path of Hasina’s aircraft, frequently communicating with it till it reached the Indian airspace at 3 pm.

The report said that the entire situation was closely monitored by Indian Air Force Chief Air Marshal VR Chaudhari and Army General Upendra Dwivedi.

A meeting of top security officials including chiefs of intelligence agencies, General Dwivedi and Integrated Defence Staff Chief Johnson Philip Mathew, was also held.

Meeting with Doval

Once Hasina landed at the Hindon air base at around 5.45 pm, she was received by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. The latter held a discussion with Hasina on the current situation in Bangladesh and her future course of action, the report said.

Doval later made a briefing on the developments at a Cabinet Committee of Security meeting headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Separately, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar briefed Modi about the situation in Bangladesh. The external affairs minister also apprised the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi about the developments in the neighbouring country.

It is learnt that Hasina has been moved to a safe location after the meeting and it is unlikely that she would leave India on Monday night. Sources said, while she was supposed to leave for London on Monday, "certain issues" have come up bringing uncertainty to the plan.

What is India’s stand on the issue?

While India, considering its close ties with Hasina, provided safe passage to her, the Modi government is yet to make an official comment on the issue.

Indian government sources said New Delhi is closely following the fast-paced developments in Dhaka.

It is expected that Jaishankar will make a statement in Parliament on Tuesday on the situation in the neighbouring country.

While the government has issued a “high alert” along its border with Bangladesh, Indian nationals have been advised not to travel to the neighbouring country.

Experts say the instability in Bangladesh may have consequences in India as the former shares a porous border with some of the Indian states. While militant activities in India’s northeast was in check under the Hasina government, as she did not allow insurgency in Bangladesh, her ouster is likely to trigger security concerns for India.