Police have sought to keep former MP Major (retd) Akhtaruzzaman in jail following allegations that he created a disturbance over a shortage of luggage trolleys at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, obstructed official duties and assaulted an on-duty security official.
Sub-Inspector Majedul Islam of Airport police station, also the investigating officer in the case, confirmed the matter on Sunday afternoon.
“After the remand period ended, we produced him before the court and applied to have him detained in jail,” he said.
SI Abu Bakkar Siddique of the prosecution division said a hearing on the matter is scheduled at the Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Court.
On Saturday, the court granted Akhtaruzzaman one day’s remand for questioning.
Earlier on Friday evening, the Detective Branch (DB) arrested him from his residence in the Dhaka Cantonment area.
A video circulated on social media earlier showed Akhtaruzzaman raising his voice over a delay in distributing Zamzam water to Umrah pilgrims who had arrived from Medina on a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight on Thursday morning.
In the video, the former MP is seen addressing airport Executive Director Group Captain SM Ragib Samad and threatening to throw him out of the airport while accusing him of securing his position through lobbying.
What the case statement says
According to the case statement, 34 Jamaat-e-Islami representatives, accompanied by their families, arrived at Dhaka Airport from Medina on Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight BG-338 at 8:55am on Thursday.
Due to a heavy influx of arriving passengers, long queues formed for luggage trolleys. Several protocol assistants allegedly attempted to bypass the queue to secure trolleys.
The situation became tense over delays in receiving luggage and Zamzam water, the case statement said.
Around 10:45am, Dhaka-5 MP Mohammad Kamal Hossain summoned the airport executive director to the scene.
The executive director arrived and began speaking with those concerned. At that point, Akhtaruzzaman allegedly approached him aggressively and verbally abused him.
The case statement said the executive director tried to explain the situation regarding the surge of passengers and trolley management, but Akhtaruzzaman became increasingly agitated and allegedly threatened him.
Fearing further escalation, MP Kamal Hossain moved the executive director to a safe distance, according to the complaint.
The complaint further alleges that Akhtaruzzaman later threatened those present and made derogatory remarks about Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister M Rashiduzzaman Millat.
Several protocol assistants accompanying Akhtaruzzaman allegedly recorded the incident and threatened to circulate the footage on social media.
According to the case details, security supervisor Mohammad Kamal Uddin instructed those involved not to record videos in the airport’s Key Point Installation (KPI) area, citing security concerns.
Akhtaruzzaman allegedly approached Warrant Officer Kamal Uddin, verbally abused him and assaulted him.
The FIR said the alleged assault was not captured on CCTV but could be corroborated by the victim and eyewitnesses.
A Biman Bangladesh Airlines representative later arrived at the scene, and Akhtaruzzaman allegedly behaved aggressively towards him as well.
The case statement also alleges that Akhtaruzzaman threw bottles of Zamzam water belonging to passengers from a trolley.
Political background
Akhtaruzzaman, a former MP for the Kishoreganj-2 constituency, joined Jamaat-e-Islami ahead of the 13th parliamentary election.
He previously won the Katiadi constituency as a BNP candidate in 1991 and June 1996.
In the recent election, his younger brother Anisuzzaman Khokon, a former BNP MP for Mymensingh-19, contested the same seat as an independent candidate.
Two Biman officials suspended
Meanwhile, Biman Bangladesh Airlines has temporarily suspended two officials over the delay in distributing Zamzam water to Umrah pilgrims.
The officials are Baggage In-charge Monirul Islam Prodhan and Flight Supervisor Saddam Hossain.
They have also been asked to explain allegations of negligence in their duties.
