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Former lawmaker Major (retd) Mohammad Akhteruzzaman was arrested on Friday over allegations of creating disorder at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, obstructing government duties and physically assaulting an on-duty security official, police said.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police Additional Commissioner (Detective) Shafiqul Islam confirmed the arrest. Akhteruzzaman was arrested from his residence in the capital’s Cantonment area on Friday.
The case was filed earlier on Friday by airport security officer Mohammad Shahriar Alam Sajib at Airport Police Station under several sections of the Penal Code.
The allegations stem from an incident on Thursday involving 34 Jamaat-e-Islami representatives and their family members who arrived in Dhaka from Medina on Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight BG-338.
The flight landed at 8:55am and passengers later went to the baggage claim area, where a shortage of trolleys and delays in baggage and Zamzam water delivery reportedly caused tension.
According to the case statement, Dhaka-5 MP Mohammad Kamal Hossain called airport Executive Director Group Captain SM Ragib Samad to the scene at around 10:40am to help manage the situation.
Akhteruzzaman allegedly confronted the airport executive director, used abusive language and threatened to assault him and remove him from the airport. The executive director was subsequently moved to a safe distance, according to the complaint.
The case statement further alleges that people accompanying Akhteruzzaman were recording videos in a restricted KPI area. When security supervisor Warrant Officer Mohammad Kamal Uddin asked them to stop, Akhteruzzaman allegedly verbally abused and physically assaulted him.
He was also accused of behaving aggressively towards a Biman representative and throwing Zamzam water bottles belonging to passengers from a trolley.
Police said the case includes allegations of obstructing government duties, issuing threats, assault, criminal force, intentional insult and intimidation. Investigators are examining CCTV footage, witness statements and other evidence.
A Dhaka metropolitan magistrate has taken cognisance of the case and directed the investigating officer to submit a report by November 10, according to the case proceedings described in local reports.