Sheikh Hasina moved out of Hindon airbase, uncertainty over London travel plans

Hasina, 76, and her small entourage flew into Hindon airbase near New Delhi in a Bangladesh Air Force aircraft late on Monday afternoon, hours after she quit following massive public protests calling for the ouster of her government. National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and senior military officials met Hasina at the airbase shortly after her arrival.

There has been no official word from the Indian government on the developments in Bangladesh or Hasina’s future plans, though the people cited above said on condition of anonymity that the former premier had been moved from Hindon airbase to a safe location. The people declined to give details for security reasons.

Hasina is expected to remain in India for a few more days because of uncertainty regarding her plan to travel to London, where she has relatives, the people said. Hasina is accompanied by her sister Sheikh Rehana, whose daughter Tulip Siddiq is a Labour Party leader in the UK. Siddiq was recently re-elected as an MP and appointed as economic secretary to the treasury and city minister.

The people said Hasina had sought certain assurances from UK authorities, such as no action being taken against her in connection with the violent protests since last month that left nearly 400 people dead in Bangladesh.

However, UK foreign secretary David Lammy on Monday called for a UN-led probe into the “unprecedented levels of violence and tragic loss of life” in Bangladesh. “The people of Bangladesh deserve a full and independent UN-led investigation into the events of the past two weeks,” he said in a statement.

The people said these developments had cast uncertainty over Hasina’s plans to travel to the UK. They said Hasina’s team is also exploring options for seeking asylum in other countries. One of the countries reportedly being looked at is Finland, since the former premier has relatives there too.

During an all-party meeting on the situation in Bangladesh on Monday morning, leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi asked whether the government has information on Hasina’s future plans. External affairs minister S Jaishankar, who was among the ministers who briefed the gathering, said the Indian side has spoken to Hasina on her future course of action, but it could not be disclosed at the moment.