Staff Correspondent
A video and caption circulating on social media and some news outlets over an incident involving Ansar members at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport have created confusion by allegedly presenting the incident without its full context, according to a statement issued by the Bangladesh Ansar and Village Defence Force on Friday.
The statement said the incident took place on September 1 in the Canopy-02 area of the airport, where a relative of a passenger was allegedly staying in a restricted area adjacent to the arrival gate.
As the presence of passengers or their relatives is prohibited in the area for security and crowd-control reasons, Ansar members on duty repeatedly asked the person to leave the restricted zone and instructed him to comply with security rules, it said.
However, the person allegedly ignored the instructions and continued to stay in the restricted area while repeatedly trying to look inside the arrival gate, according to the statement.
When the Ansar personnel again asked him to move away, he allegedly engaged in teasing, made offensive remarks and used abusive language towards the members on duty.
At one point, an AVSEC corporal noticed the incident and came to the spot. The corporal instructed the individual not to remain in the restricted area. A verbal altercation subsequently broke out between the corporal and the individual, causing the situation to become tense.
The statement said the AVSEC corporal later instructed the Ansar members to take the individual inside the arrival gate to a designated area.
“According to the information available, the Ansar members took the individual inside the arrival gate in compliance with the instructions of the AVSEC authorities,” the statement said.
It added that necessary legal and administrative measures were subsequently taken against the individual by the relevant authorities.
The statement came after a video was circulated with the headline, “Visitor dragged inside terminal after misbehaving with Ansar members,” which, according to the Ansar authorities, created a misleading impression about what had actually happened.
The Ansar authorities stressed that maintaining security regulations and enforcing restrictions on access to designated areas are part of the routine responsibilities of security personnel at an important and sensitive facility such as an international airport.
“If anyone remains in a restricted area, removing the person from that area and, when necessary, handing the individual over to the relevant authorities is part of the normal security procedure,” the statement said.
It also clarified that the Ansar members did not take any punitive action against the individual on their own initiative. Rather, they carried out the responsibility of taking him to the designated area inside the arrival gate following instructions from the AVSEC authorities.
The authorities expressed concern that short video clips or one-sided captions circulated by news outlets and on social media could create confusion among the public if they fail to provide the complete context of an incident.
The Bangladesh Ansar and Village Defence Force urged media outlets and others to consider the full circumstances before drawing conclusions about the actions of security personnel performing their duties at sensitive installations.
The force said its members follow security regulations, discipline and instructions issued by the relevant authorities while performing their duties.
