A Dhaka court on Monday deferred until 15 December the submission of the investigation report in a case filed against Jamaat-e-Islami leader Major (retd) Akhtaruzzaman over allegations of obstructing official duties and misbehaving with officials at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Ripon Hossain fixed the new date after a hearing on Tuesday.
Saiful Islam, a sub-inspector of the prosecution department, confirmed the development, saying Akhtaruzzaman appeared before the court to record his attendance.
The investigating agency, Airport Police Station, failed to submit the report on the scheduled date, prompting the court to set a new deadline.
According to the complaint, a 34-member Jamaat-e-Islami delegation, accompanied by family members, arrived in Dhaka from Madinah at 8:55am on 1 October.
Their flight parked at 9:08am. After completing immigration formalities, the passengers entered the terminal through Gate 21 and went to baggage belt area 8 to collect their luggage.
At the time, heavy passenger traffic at the airport had caused a temporary shortage of luggage trolleys, resulting in long queues. Several protocol assistants allegedly tried to collect trolleys in violation of queue rules.
Delays in baggage delivery and the non-delivery of Zamzam water later triggered frustration among several people, who allegedly behaved offensively.
The complaint said Mohammad Kamal Hossain, MP for Dhaka-5, summoned Group Captain S M Rageeb Samad, the airport’s executive director, to the scene.
When the executive director arrived and began speaking with those concerned, Akhtaruzzaman allegedly approached him aggressively and addressed him in a rude manner.
As the executive director tried to explain the pressure of incoming passengers and the airport’s trolley management system, Akhtaruzzaman reportedly became more agitated and threatened him.
According to the complaint, he made several threatening remarks, including, “I will beat you up”, “Get out from here”, “I will push you out by the neck”, “You don’t know your job, came to this posting through lobbying” and “Do you want to get beaten?”
Fearing further escalation, Mohammad Kamal Hossain moved the executive director to a safe distance.
Akhtaruzzaman then allegedly addressed those present, saying they should be tied up and beaten at the airport and the incident posted on social media so that BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman could see it. He also reportedly threatened to push officials out by the neck.
The complaint further alleged that he made derogatory remarks about the civil aviation and tourism minister, accusing him of doing nothing for the airport.
Several protocol assistants accompanying Akhtaruzzaman allegedly recorded videos of the incident and threatened to share them on social media, raising concerns over security and discipline at the airport.
Warrant Officer Mohammad Kamal Uddin, the security supervisor on duty, asked them not to record videos inside the Key Point Installation (KPI) area.
Akhtaruzzaman allegedly verbally abused him and physically assaulted him.
When a representative of Biman Bangladesh Airlines arrived at the scene, Akhtaruzzaman reportedly behaved aggressively towards him as well.
He was also accused of throwing bottles and containers of Zamzam water collected by passengers off luggage trolleys, causing damage.
According to the complaint, Akhtaruzzaman’s actions obstructed government officials and security personnel performing their duties at the airport, a KPI-sensitive facility. He was also accused of threatening and intimidating officials, using obscene language in public and physically assaulting a security staff member.
Airport Security Officer Md Shahriar Alam Sojib filed the case as the complainant at Airport Police Station.
On 2 October, the Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police arrested Akhtaruzzaman from his residence in the DOHS area of the capital’s Cantonment.
The High Court subsequently granted him bail on 1 November.
