Jamaat-e-Islami has demanded the immediate withdrawal of the remand order against Major (retd) Akhtaruzzaman and his unconditional release, describing the case against him as false.
Jamaat Secretary General Mia Golam Parwar made the demand at a protest rally at Baitul Mukarram after Zohr prayers on Saturday.
He also criticised the use of handcuffs and a helmet when Akhtaruzzaman was brought to court.
A Dhaka court on Saturday placed Akhtaruzzaman on a one-day remand in a case filed over alleged disorder, obstruction of government duties and assault on a security official at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. Police had sought five days’ remand.
Parwar claimed Akhtaruzzaman was arrested because he had spoken out against mismanagement at the airport and had left the BNP to join Jamaat.
He also said two airport officials had been withdrawn following the incident, which he cited as evidence that Akhtaruzzaman’s concerns were justified.
“Why was he handcuffed and made to wear a helmet? What crime has he committed? Is he a major criminal?” Parwar said at the rally, calling for his immediate release.
Parwar also criticised statements by senior political leaders concerning Jamaat’s political history and its relationship with the BNP.
He said BNP and Jamaat had jointly taken part in street movements for 20 to 22 years against authoritarian rule. He questioned why Jamaat had not been described as a “secret” or “anti-liberation” force during that period.
The case was filed over an incident at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Thursday amid a shortage of luggage trolleys and delays in passengers collecting their baggage from a flight arriving from Madina.
According to the police case statement, airport Executive Director Group Captain SM Ragib Samad went to the baggage area to manage the situation after passengers became agitated.
The complaint alleges that Akhtaruzzaman behaved aggressively towards the airport executive director, threatened him and later assaulted a security supervisor after people accompanying him began recording video inside a restricted area.
Police also alleged that bottles of Zamzam water were thrown from luggage trolleys and that Akhtaruzzaman behaved aggressively towards a Biman Bangladesh Airlines representative.
Akhtaruzzaman was arrested by the Detective Branch from his residence in Dhaka’s Cantonment area on Friday and later handed over to Airport Police in connection with the case.
The investigating officer, Airport Police Station Sub-Inspector Majedul Islam, sought five days’ remand to question him. Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Al-Beruni Mir granted one day after a hearing on Saturday.
Akhtaruzzaman, a former BNP lawmaker, joined Jamaat ahead of the national parliamentary election after being expelled from the BNP.
Following the rally, Jamaat activists from its Dhaka South city unit brought out a procession from Baitul Mukarram.
