How Salman F Rahman missed Hasina's escape flight to India

Ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her sister wanted Salman F Rahman onboard their escape flight to India, but the powerful businessman and top aide missed the departure at the last moment, according to several sources familiar with the development.

"As the motorcade carrying Hasina and her sister left Ganabhaban for the airport, they wanted only a few key people on the flight to India," said an official who was present at Ganabhaban on the morning of August 5.

"They made phone calls to key aides—including Major General (Retd) Tarique Ahmed Siddique—asking them to join them at the airport. Salman was called several times, but he missed out," the official added.

Leaked audio recordings later revealed Sheikh Rehana, Hasina’s sister, frantically calling Salman and pleading with him to leave his residence immediately.

However, a diplomatic source said Salman was at the time meeting with the acting envoy of a powerful Western nation in a last-ditch effort to secure diplomatic backing for the regime. "In the process, he lost valuable time. He could never make it to the Tejgaon Old Airport," the source said.

Salman, the owner of Beximco Group, served as a highly influential adviser to Sheikh Hasina with the rank of minister. He also acted as her de facto foreign policy chief, frequently representing the administration in high-stakes meetings with Western and Asian leaders.

Following Hasina’s flight to India, security forces launched a nationwide manhunt for Salman. He was eventually arrested on a riverboat in Dhaka—clean-shaven and without his signature beard—alongside former Law Minister Anisul Huq.

While Salman reportedly had a private jet waiting for him at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, reaching it became impossible after hundreds of thousands of protesters breached an army barricade near the airport perimeter.

Ultimately, neither sister waited for him at the old airport. "Both sisters were very fond of him as a key financial backer, but time simply ran out," the official noted.

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