Jamaat’s Akhtaruzzaman released on bail in airport threat, assault case

Jamaat-e-Islami leader Mohammad Aktaruzzaman Ranjan has been released from jail after securing bail from the High Court in a case over threats to a senior airport official and assault on a security supervisor.

He walked out of Dhaka Central Jail in Keraniganj at 10am on Tuesday, Senior Jail Superintendent Faruk Ahmed told bdnews24.com.

Officer Faruk said the jail authorities received the necessary documents on Monday evening and completed the formalities before releasing Aktaruzzaman the following morning.

Azim Uddin Patwari, a member of Aktaruzzaman's legal team, said the High Court granted him bail on Sunday. The state later challenged the order before the Chamber Court, which issued a “no order” decision on Monday, leaving the bail in force.

Aktaruzzaman was arrested by Detective Branch police from his home in the Dhaka Cantonment on Oct 2.

A video showing him shouting at SM Ragib Samad, the executive director of Shahjalal International Airport, over delays in distributing Zamzam water to Umrah pilgrims had gone viral on social media the previous day.

In it, the former MP is heard telling Ragib: “I will throw you out by the neck. You people don’t work, you do nothing, you get posts through lobbying. Want a beating?”

According to the case details, 34 Jamaat representatives and their families arrived at Shahjalal airport from Madinah on flight BG-338 at 8:55am on Oct 1. Heavy arrival traffic created a long queue for trolleys, and some protocol assistants tried to jump it.

Some people later grew “agitated” over delayed luggage and the missing Zamzam water, and behaved “inappropriately”, it says. Around 10:45am, Dhaka-5 MP Md Kamal Hossain summoned Ragib to the spot.

As Ragib spoke to those involved, Aktaruzzaman approached him aggressively and hurled abuse in “extremely rude, indecent and unspeakable” language, the first information report (FIR) says.

It says Ragib tried to calmly explain the passenger rush and trolley management, but Aktaruzzaman grew angrier, saying: “I will beat you up”, “Get out from here”.

Describing his behaviour as “extremely aggressive and violent”, the case says Kamal moved Ragib to a safe distance for fear of the situation worsening.

Aktaruzzaman then threatened those present: “You all need to be tied up and beaten at the airport and put on social media, so that Tarique Rahman sees it and you straighten up. I will throw you out by the scruff of your necks.”

He also made “highly indecent and insulting” remarks about Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister M Rashiduzzaman Millat, saying he was doing nothing for the airport, according to the FIR.

Protocol assistants with Aktaruzzaman allegedly threatened to film the incident and make it go viral.

Fearing worsening security and order, Security Supervisor Md Kamal Uddin, a warrant officer on duty, told them not to film in the airport’s KPI zone. Aktaruzzaman then went up to him suddenly, abused him in “unspeakable” language and struck him, the case alleges.

It says the assault was not captured on CCTV but can be proved through the victim and witnesses.

When a Biman representative later arrived at the scene, Aktaruzzaman allegedly behaved “indecently” and aggressively with that person too, and threw passengers’ Zamzam water bottles out of trolleys.

Aktaruzzaman, a two-time MP for Kishoreganj-2, joined Jamaat before the February election. He won the Katiadi seat in 1991 and in June 1996 as a Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) candidate.

His younger brother Anisuzzaman Khokon, who became BNP MP for Mymensingh-19 in 1979, ran for the seat this time as an independent candidate.

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