Staff Reporter :
There have been allegations of stealing dollars from the bags of two players of the SAFF champion women’s football team. After coming from the airport to the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) headquarters building at Motijheel, they opened the bag and found it empty. In Bangladesh currency the amount is Tk two lakh.
Bangladesh team coach Golam Rabbani Choton said, “Krishna and Shamsunnahar reported that their dollars were stolen.” Krishna’s 900 dollars and Bangladeshi 50 thousand taka and Shamsunnahar’s 400 dollars were not found. They think it was stolen from the baggage belt at the airport.
Meanwhile, Biman Bangladesh Airlines and Shahjalal International Airport authorities said there was ‘no truth’ in the allegations that the Bangladesh women’s football team had their luggage broken into and money stolen at the airport after returning from Nepal.
On Thursday, the team’s coach Golam Rabbani said he heard claims that Shamsunnahar and Krishna Rani Sarkar’s bags were cut
open and US dollars were stolen. In this regard, Bangladesh Football Federation’s women wing chairman Mahfuza Akter Kiron said that the Civil Aviation and Airport authorities are investigating on the issue. If the money is not recovered, we will manage the amount.
Earlier on Wednesday night, two senior footballers Krishna and Shamsunnahar noticed the matter. They traveled abroad many times in the last few years. Incidents like this are not new at Bangladesh airports. Still, many concerned were surprised at so many dollars in the luggage.
Both Krishna and Shamsunnahar kept the dollars in the locked luggage. The theft happened when the lock was broken.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh Biman Airlines’ authorities have claimed that the representatives of Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) and respective players received their luggage in proper state.
The national flag carrier denied claims of missing from the luggage of South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) champion footballers Krishna Rani Sarkar and Shamsun Nahar.
“After examining CCTV footages at various points of the airport yesterday, no such evidence of alleged tampering with the footballers’ luggage was found,” said the Bangladesh Biman spokesperson Tahera Khandaker in a media release on Thursday (22 September).
In a statement, Biman said that the flight BG-372 of Kathmandu-Dhaka route landed at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 1:42pm yesterday.
“Biman delivered the luggage through baggage belt No 8 at 2:10pm with utmost care under proper supervision,” the media release stated.
Biman said the BFF representatives left the airport area with the luggage loaded into two covered vans.
