Major (Retd) Akhtaruzzaman walks out of jail

Jamaat-e-Islami leader and former Member of Parliament Freedom Fighter Major (Retd) Akhtaruzzaman was released from Dhaka Central Jail on Tuesday (November 3), after serving over a month in detention over an airport altercation case.

A large number of Jamaat-e-Islami leaders and activists gathered at the prison gate on Tuesday morning to greet the former lawmaker upon his release, presenting him with floral bouquets.

The case stems from an incident on October 1, when a 34-member Jamaat delegation alongside their family members arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport from Madinah. Tensions escalated after passengers got into a heated altercation with airport authorities over trolley shortages and delays in retrieving Zamzam water, allegedly resulting in severe disruption of airport operations.

Following the incident, Airport Security Officer Md. Shahriar Alam Sajib filed a lawsuit at Airport Police Station against Akhtaruzzaman and several others, charging them with obstructing government officials in the execution of their duties and assaulting a security officer.

The Dhaka Metropolitan Police Detective Branch (DB) arrested Major (Retd) Akhtaruzzaman from his residence in the capital's Cantonment area on the afternoon of October 2. After a period of interrogation on remand, a Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate court rejected his bail application on October 4 and sent him to prison.

Following subsequent bail rejections in the Sessions Court, his legal team secured his release through the High Court.

-SA