NEW DELHI, August 5. /TASS/. Sheikh Hasina, who has resigned as Bangladesh Prime Minister and left the country, has arrived in India, the NDTV television channel reported.
The flight carrying the former prime minister reportedly landed at Hindon Airport, which is the Indian Air Force base in Ghaziabad, located 40 kilometers from New Delhi.
According to the ANI news agency, Indian Air Force fighter jets were airborne soon after the C-130 plane carrying Sheikh Hasina entered Indian airspace and kept an eye on it for a while. "The Indian Air Force and Indian Army were prepared to meet any contingency," the agency quoted a source as saying.
Media reports say that Sheikh Hasina is planning to leave India for London. As The Hindu newspaper reported, she has asked the UK authorities to grant her political asylum. The Indian authorities have agreed to support her, but despite this, she is planning to leave for London, sources have said.
According to the paper, her accompanying sister Sheikh Rehana holds UK citizenship already. In addition, Hasina's niece Tulip Siddiq has been a member of the British Parliament from the Labour Party since 2015. She has the position of Economic Secretary to the Treasury in the new cabinet of Prime Minister Keir Starmer.