Helicopter lost direction on way to rally: CM

TT, 11 Apr 2019T , Calcutta: Chief minister Mamata Banerjee said a helicopter she had taken on Wednesday to address a rally 55km from Siliguri "lost direction", triggering what officials described as a "security scare" and prompting a probe by the Bengal administration. 

The chopper landed in Chopra, the rally venue in North Dinajpur near the Bangladesh border, after a delay of around 35 minutes. The chief minister took off around 1.05pm from Siliguri.

She was supposed to land at around 1.27pm, but finally arrived after 2pm. "I am sorry I am late. This is because the pilot was unable to locate this place. He lost the direction…. Thankfully, the sky was clear and sunny today," she said at the rally.

"I was supposed to be here in 22 minutes. But it took nearly 55minutes to get here," she added.

Her rally venue was less than 5km from the nearest India-Bangladesh border.

Sources in her party said administrative information indicated the helicopter had veered off towards Bihar, located around 20km from the venue.

"After several rounds of communication, the pilot managed to get back on track and land in Chopra, we are told. This is not usual and is not an acceptable lapse," said a Trinamul Congress source.

"We are not saying the pilot was to blame. But given the current vitiation of the poll atmosphere, sinister conspiracies cannot be ruled out," he added.

Given the Trinamul chief's Z+ category security, a probe was ordered into the alleged incident by the North Dinajpur district's civil and police administration.

"With Mamata Banerjee on board, it was, of course, a security scare. The matter will be thoroughly investigated," said an administrative source.

In 2016 and 2018, Mamata had alleged conspiracies to kill her, after aircraft she was travelling in had hovered in air before substantially delayed landings in the Calcutta airport.

The chopper, that carried Mamata Banerjee from Siliguri to Chopra, had reportedly lost its route and hovered over North Dinajpur and adjoining areas for an additional half an hour.

According to sources, the chopper took off from Siliguri at around 1pm and was supposed to reach the venue at 1.30pm. It however, could reach there only at around 2pm.

Mamata, while speaking at the meeting, said the pilot could not locate the venue and it took an additional 30 minutes to reach the spot.

The incident has prompted the North Dinajpur district administration and the police to start an inquiry..