Civil Aviation Ministry: Ilias Kanchan made untrue claims to media

Film star and road safety activist Ilias Kanchan has made “untrue” statement to the media regarding the handgun incident at  the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, claimed Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry.

The ministry issued a press release on Thursday regarding the matter.

The press release said that on March 5, Ilias Kanchan, while talking to reporters, said that he forgot to remove the firearm from his bag and had told the authorities during his body check at boarding gate that he had a licensed handgun in his laptop bag that was about to run through the scanner.

When the bag came out without raising any red flags, Kanchan said he was extremely alarmed at the lack of alertness of the airport’s security staff.

He was flying to Chittagong from Dhaka by a Novo Air flight.

The press release said: “However, Ilyas Kanchan’s statement to the press about the incident was untrue.”

“On Wednesday, what actually took place was that the handgun and bullets in his laptop bag were detected under the scanner at the anti-hijacking point of the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport domestic terminal,” reads the civil aviation ministry press release.

When airport officials asked him about this, he admitted to his mistake. 

The ministry claimed that it was the security personnel who requested him to follow the proper procedure for flying in possession of a firearm.