Staff Correspondent

A legal notice has been issued to remove Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) chief engineer Habibur Rahman from his post.

Supreme Court lawyer Barrister Md. Solaiman (Tushar) served the notice on behalf of five Supreme Court lawyers via e-mail on Thursday.

The notice names the Secretary of the Ministry of Private Aviation and Tourism, Chairman of the CAAC and the Chief Engineer as respondents.

The notice givers are Supreme Court lawyers Barrister Md. Solaiman (Tushar), Barrister Mahdi Zaman (Boni), Advocate Bayezid Hossain, Adv Md. Shahed Siddiqui, and Adv Khairul Bashar. The notice asks for immediate removal of the CAAC chief engineer Habibur Rahman from his post. The notice has asked the chief engineer of the Civil Aviation Authority to take necessary measures to remove him from his post within a day. Otherwise, legal action will be taken, including filing a writ in the High Court Division of the Supreme Court.

The notice says during the tenure of the Awami League government led by the Chief Engineer of the Civil Aviation Authority (CCAA), Habibur Rahman was involved in corruption of hundreds of crores of taka and looting at the country's airports.

The Anti-Corruption Commission has found evidence of the involvement of Chief Engineer Habibur Rahman in this looting in its investigation.

Four cases have been filed against Habibur Rahman and the accused in this incident. The notice says that being in a position like the chief engineer will naturally hinder the investigation work. He can influence witnesses. He can destroy or remove important evidence of the case. Therefore, it is important to remove him from his post. It is natural for there to be a conflict of interest if he is in the position.

The notice also says, several other allegations of irregularities and corruption against Chief Engineer Habibur Rahman are under investigation by the ACC. A letter has been sent to all airports and land ports of the country imposing a travel ban on him.

It is mentioned that that former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's military advisor Brigadier General (retd) Tariq Ahmed Siddique, former Aviation Secretary Mohibul Haque, Joint Secretary Janendranath Sarkar, former Chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority Mofidur Rahman, former Chief Engineer Abdul Malek and current Chief Engineer Habibur Rahman have already been accused in the ACC case on charges of corruption in various projects of the Civil Aviation Authority. The country's airports under the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) have been looted in the name of development.

The ACC is already investigating corruption in projects worth Tk 32,605 crore at 8 airports in the country, including the third terminal. A case has been filed regarding corruption worth Tk 9 billion.

Supreme Court lawyer Barrister Md. Solaiman (Tushar) said in this regard that there is no end to the allegations against the Chief Engineer of the Civil Aviation Authority. He has already been charged with multiple corruption cases. If he continues in his position, he could affect the investigation of the case.

It is important to remove him from his position in the interest of justice. He said that if the concerned do not take necessary action, other legal measures will be taken, including filing a writ in the Supreme Court.