Air Operator Certification and Continuation (AOC). According to this charter, the civil aviation authority is operating. So far their power. But there is no jurisdiction to search or verify information regarding the direction of visa issue. However, they have sent back 42 passengers from Sylhet to Canada without jurisdiction and practicing illegality. The incident spread worldwide. Abroad, the image of Bangladeshis going abroad has undoubtedly been tarnished. At the same time, the question is raised that such work is outside the jurisdiction of the aviation authorities. A reliable source related to civil aviation and Biman says that the incident is disturbing, but there is no malice behind it, but rather a financial motive. In this way, the passengers are constantly harassed. There are several syndicates at the airport who allow passengers to travel abroad through secret hatches. Hence they get a handsome amount per passenger. No syndicate has contacted them in this regard. So they did the work without right to attract attention. This dutiful circle may have unwittingly committed such actions to reveal their sins. Meanwhile, remittances from the country’s expatriates are one of the mainstays of the economy. This remittance is the hope of the country in times of trouble and crisis. But expatriates are being harassed in the field of the country. But instead of getting rid of it, the fact that the corruption is gradually increasing has come into the discussion again through the return of passengers to Canada. Several sources have confirmed that many passengers with valid visas are subjected to unnecessary questioning during immigration at the airport in Sylhet. Passengers are paying with heavy chests to overcome the situation in many cases. Meanwhile, a legal notice has been issued to the chairman of Biman Bangladesh Airlines regarding the sending back of 42 passengers. Advocate Kazi Musharraf Rashed on behalf of Jalalabad Pravasi Kalyan Parishad, Sylhet issued this legal notice in the public interest on Tuesday. Show cause requested within 7 days of receipt of notice. It is mentioned in the notice that Bangladesh Biman officials working at Shahjalal International Airport arrested 42 passengers from Dhaka Airport on November 6 and sent them back to their homes. However, they all completed their immigration process at Sylhet Osmani Airport with valid Canadian visas and were waiting for the connecting flight to Toronto in the transit line in Dhaka. The reason for the return of the passengers was that the visas they received through the invitation letter were fake. Besides, it is said that most of the visa recipients have not traveled anywhere outside the country before. This is their first visit. Whereas the Canada High Commission previously issued visas to 42 passengers after considering the application form to be credible.
According to sources, 42 people from Sylhet got Canadian visa. They are Hazrat Shahjalal of Dhaka. The 42 people were stopped by members of Biman’s passport checking unit while they were waiting in transit at the international airport on Monday night, November 6. Later they complained about the means of obtaining visas of these passengers and cut the immigration seal on their passports and returned them with their luggage.
However, an airline source told a media outlet that if these passengers get stuck at immigration after arriving in Toronto, the airline will be fined $1,800 for each passenger.
But the complainants say this would have happened if the passengers’ visas were invalid. So the airport authorities have to check whether the visa is valid. Not how you got the visa. But valid visas do not have this penalty rule. It is a matter of related immigration. Some on social media also alleged that it was an expression of revenge by ‘Sylhet haters’ at the airport. Ever since the incident, Sylhet has been active in discussions about the matter.
According to the airline sources, the airline suffered a loss of around one million rupees due to the passengers not being able to go. After the incident, a delegation of Biman came to Sylhet and called the passengers but they did not respond.
They completed immigration from Sylhet’s Osmani International Airport after getting a valid visa on November 6. Later, after going to Dhaka on a connecting flight, they were stopped by the airline authorities while boarding the Bangladesh Biman bound for Canada. Since then, a storm of criticism has been pouring in from social media to tea stalls.
Conscious circles say that Bangladesh is an exception in other countries where domestic passengers are given separate assistance in going abroad at the airport. Air passengers have been complaining about passenger harassment at the airport for a long time. Airline authorities go beyond their rules and harass passengers by questioning them unnecessarily. This incident of last Friday is a shining example of it. After clearing immigration and doing all the work, the jurisdiction where the airline stops them raises a big question.
In this regard, the former president of Sylhet District Lawyers Association, Emad Ullah Shahidul Islam Shaheen, said that they have been wronged. Biman treated them unfairly despite having valid visas. If there is any error in their documents, it is a matter of immigration after landing at the Canadian airport. The dreams of 42 families were associated with these 42 people, but what Biman did was not right.
Bangladesh Awami League Central Organizing Secretary Shafiul Alam Chowdhury Nadel said, if their visas are valid, they have no authority to stop the flight or look at the visa papers. Biman can only check if the visa is valid. He said that many times the embassy sends an email for visa cancellation, which many travelers hide. Many people have visas in their passports but later the embassy cancels the visas by email, which is caught when checked at the airport. It must be ascertained whether this has been the case with those who have been sent back. It can happen not only with airplanes but with any airlines. If these 42 people have not received the email that the visa has been cancelled, then they have been wronged.
Sylhet District BNP General Secretary Imran Ahmad Chowdhury said that issuing visas is a country’s own matter. If there is any problem with the visa documents, it is the matter of their immigration at the airport after landing in Canada. The airline authority has no jurisdiction to see how the visa was obtained. It is wrong of the airline not to allow travel with a valid visa. This has damaged the image of the country. Those who migrate from Bangladesh carry many dreams. It also involves the dream of many families and the country’s remittances. So the matter is not fixed.
Meanwhile, many say that such harassment of foreign passengers is happening frequently at the airport. They alleged that the unscrupulous people of Biman did this by not giving unethical benefits. So they demanded to investigate the matter and take action. They said that Canada has given the visa, if there is any problem with the visa, the Canadian immigration will look into it after landing in Canada. Airline’s responsibility is only to carry passengers, they only check if the passenger’s visa is valid. But why did they do it after having a valid visa? A proper investigation will reveal it.
Advocate Kazi Musharraf Rashed, who gave the legal notice, said that the legal notice has been sent as per the legal process, I hope the Biman chairman will receive the notice tomorrow. Karan Dasharno has been mentioned within 7 days, otherwise I will be forced to file a lawsuit against the concerned in the civil criminal court or even in the high court as per Article 102 of the Constitution of Bangladesh in view of harassment and defamation of 42 passengers and irreparable financial loss.
Tags: Return passengers Sylhet Canada rights Legal notice Biman chairman
