Ex-MP Akhtar sent to jail

A Dhaka court on Sunday sent former lawmaker and Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami leader Major (retd) Akhtaruzzaman to jail in a case filed over creating disorder and allegedly misbehaving with officials at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Jamshed Alam passed the order after rejecting his bail petition. Akhtaruzzaman was produced before the court after completing a one-day remand.

Earlier, the investigating officer of the case, Sub-Inspector of Airport Police Station Majedul Islam, filed a petition seeking an order to keep Akhtaruzzaman in jail until the investigation is completed.

Akhtaruzzaman’s lawyer, however, filed a petition seeking his bail.

On Friday, detectives arrested the Jamaat leader during a drive at his residence in Cantonment. He was later shown arrested in the case.

A Dhaka court on Saturday placed him on a one-day remand.

According to the FIR, the incident took place on Thursday morning when passengers arriving from Madina on a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight, BG-338, faced a shortage of baggage trolleys and delays in collecting their luggage.

Airport Executive Director Group Captain SM Ragib Samad went to the spot to control the situation.

Akhtaruzzaman allegedly verbally abused and threatened him and later assaulted Security Supervisor Warrant Officer Mohammad Kamal Uddin after the latter asked his protocol assistants to stop recording videos in the restricted KPI area.

According to the FIR, Akhtaruzzaman also threw bottles of Zamzam water from passengers’ trolleys and behaved aggressively towards a Biman representative.

Police said they would examine CCTV footage, record statements from eyewitnesses and collect other evidence before taking further legal action.