Case filed against Maj (retd) Akhtaruzzaman over airport altercation

Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) authorities on Friday filed a case against former BNP leader and current Jamaat figure Maj (retd) Akhtaruzzaman following an altercation with airport officials a day earlier.

Shahriar Alam Sajib, a security officer at HSIA, filed the case at the airport police station on Friday morning, the station’s investigating officer confirmed.

He was charged with obstructing government duties, creating disorder at the airport and assaulting a security official.

According to the First Information Report (FIR), the incident took place around 10:40am on Thursday after passengers of a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight (BG-338) arriving from Madina faced a shortage of trolleys and delays in collecting their baggage at No 8 baggage belt amid heavy passenger pressure, UNB reported.

Airport Executive Director Group Captain SM Ragib Samad then went to the spot to bring the situation under control following a request from Dhaka-5 MP Mohammad Kamal Hossain.

The FIR said while Ragib Samad was trying to calm the situation, Akhtaruzzaman, who was expelled from BNP several times and joined Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami in December 2025, allegedly moved towards him aggressively, abused him and threatened to beat him and throw him out of the airport by the neck.

He also allegedly made offensive remarks about the civil aviation and tourism minister.

The situation worsened when protocol assistants accompanying Akhtaruzzaman started recording videos on mobile phones in the airport's restricted Key Point Installation (KPI) area.

When security supervisor Warrant Officer Mohammad Kamal Uddin asked them to stop recording, Akhtaruzzaman allegedly abused him and physically assaulted him.

The FIR further alleged that Akhtaruzzaman threw bottles of holy Zamzam water collected by other passengers from their trolleys, allegedly causing damage, and behaved aggressively towards a representative of Biman Bangladesh Airlines.

Police said they will collect CCTV footage, statements from eyewitnesses and other evidence as part of the investigation and take legal action based on the findings.