A Dhaka court on Thursday sentenced former Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) Junior Licence Inspector H M Rashed Sarkar to five years' rigorous imprisonment for accepting a Tk100,000 bribe in exchange for renewing a pilot's licence and facilitating access to an examination.

Judge Mohammad Abdullah Al Mamun of Dhaka Special Judge Court-5 delivered the verdict. The court also fined the convict Tk100,000.

Public prosecutor Zahirul Islam represented the state, while Ibrahim Juwel appeared for the defence.

Following the verdict, Zahirul Islam expressed satisfaction with the ruling.

"This verdict has set an example in cases of this nature, and we are very satisfied with the court's decision," he said.

Defence lawyer Ibrahim Juwel expressed dissatisfaction with the judgment and said they would challenge the verdict before the High Court.

According to the case documents, Md Rakib Hasan, who obtained a Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL) in the Philippines, applied to convert it into a Bangladeshi licence. Rashed Sarkar allegedly rejected the application through the online system and later demanded Tk100,000 in exchange for allowing him to sit the required examination.

Following Rakib Hasan's complaint, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) conducted a sting operation at the BFC Restaurant in Sector 13 of Uttara on December 6, 2019. Rashed Sarkar was caught red-handed while accepting the bribe.

The case was filed on the same day by ACC Assistant Director Tahseen Mosabil Haque.