Money, clothes and other items were allegedly stolen from the luggage of SAFF champions Krishna Rani Sarker and Shamsunnahar.
The incident took place at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on Wednesday after the women team returned home from Nepal following their triumph at the SAFF (South Asian Football Federation) Women's Championship.
Speaking to Prothom Alo, Krishna’s father Basudeb Sarkar said, “My daughter called me over the phone. She is very sad. She told me that $400 from her luggage was stolen and teammate Shamsunnahar also lost some Nepalese rupees and clothes.”
Bangladesh football team assistant coach Mahbubur Rahman expressed disappointment saying, “After landing at the airport, we learned that Krishna, Shamsunnanar and our physio lost several items along with money. We informed Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) women's wing chief Mahfuza Akter Kiron about the matter immediately. She already contacted the Bangladesh Biman Airlines authorities and hopefully the matter will be solved.”
The airport was crammed with people following the arrival of the women football team on Wednesday, with thousands waiting outside the airport to receive them.
Several hundred media persons thronged the VIP lounge of the airport for a pre-scheduled press conference, which was later cancelled due to excessive crowds.
The luggage of the footballers at the time was yet to be collected from the airport’s luggage belt.
Several airport officials were seen saying, “Whose luggage is this? Why is nobody picking these up?” Later, the BFF officials collected the luggage on behalf of the footballers. However several footballers later found their luggage broken after arriving at the BFF building.
