Maj (retd) Akhtaruzzaman arrested over ‘assault, disorder’ at Dhaka airport

Major (retd) Akhtaruzzaman, who contested the 13th parliamentary election from Jamaat-e-Islami and lost, was arrested on Friday in a case filed over allegedly assaulting an on-duty security official, obstructing government work and creating disorder at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) in Dhaka.
A team of the Detective Branch of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) arrested him from his residence in Dhaka Cantonment around 6pm, DMP Deputy Commissioner (Media and Public Relations) Akhter Hossain confirmed to the Daily Sun.
He said arrangements were being made to hand him over to the Airport Police Station.
Just before his arrest, Akhtaruzzaman, who joined Jamaat in December last year, shared a video message saying that the DB was arresting him.
Earlier in the day, HSIA security officer Shahriar Alam Sajib filed the case with the Airport Police Station under several sections of the Penal Code.
According to the case, the incident occurred at around 10:40am on Thursday near the baggage belt after a shortage of trolleys and a delay in luggage delivery following the arrival of Biman flight BG-338 from Madina.

As passengers became agitated, airport Executive Director Group Captain SM Ragib Samad went to the spot, reportedly at the request of Dhaka-5 MP Mohammad Kamal Hossain, to calm the situation.
It is alleged that Akhtaruzzaman approached the executive director aggressively, verbally abused him and issued threats.
People accompanying Akhtaruzzaman allegedly began filming inside the restricted Key Point Installation (KPI) area. When Security Supervisor Warrant Officer Mohammad Kamal Uddin asked them to stop, Akhtaruzzaman allegedly abused and assaulted him.
He also allegedly threw bottles of Zamzam water from a passenger’s trolley and behaved aggressively towards a representative of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, according to the complaint.
The complaint also alleged that Akhtaruzzaman made offensive remarks about the Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism.
The case stated that CCTV footage, access and security records, flight records, witness accounts and other relevant evidence could be collected as part of the investigation.
A freedom fighter, Akhtaruzzaman was previously a BNP leader and was elected as the party's nominated MP from the Kishoreganj-2 constituency twice, but lost the 2018 election.
In February 2022, he was expelled from the BNP for anti-party activities.

Jamaat condemns arrest, stages protest
Jamaat Ameer and Opposition Leader in the parliament Dr Shafiqur Rahman demanded immediate release of Akhtaruzzaman and withdrawal of the case which he termed as fabricated. 
Taking to his verified facebook page, Shafiqur wrote, “He did not physically harass anyone. The allegation brought against him is entirely false.”
Jamaat also issued a statement signed by its Central Executive Council member and Dhaka North City Amir Mohammad Selim Uddin.
Selim said that filing a case against a renowned freedom fighter and his hasty detention “on trivial and flimsy pretexts is deeply alarming and an ominous sign”.
He alleged that VIPs and members of parliament had suffered hardship by having to stand in long queues because of mismanagement by airport authorities.
“A valiant freedom fighter and veteran parliamentarian, who made an outstanding contribution to the country's Liberation War, had been targeted with a case out of anger after he spoke up against negligence of duty at the airport,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Uttara zone of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami's Dhaka City North unit staged a protest march.
Led by Yasin Arafat, a member of the Central Majlis-e-Shura and assistant secretary of the city unit, the march began at the Jashim Uddin Road intersection in Uttara and ended with a rally on Airport Road.

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