Court dismisses appeal seeking to accuse Yunus of role in Milestone disaster
Staff Correspondent
A Dhaka court has rejected an application seeking to file a criminal case against former chief advisor Muhammad Yunus and 15 others over alleged negligence in the Milestone School and College aircraft disaster in Uttara’s Diabari.
Metropolitan Magistrate Ariful Islam passed the order on Thursday afternoon, saying there was “no sufficient material” to take cognisance of the case, according to court process server Shahadat Hossain.
Earlier in the morning, the petition was filed by Usaimong Marma, father of student Ukkya Chaing Marma, who was killed in the crash.
The court recorded the complainant’s statement and kept the order pending before rejecting the plea later in the day.
Others accused in the petition are interim government law advisor Asif Nazrul, environmental advisor Syeda Rizwana Hasan, education advisor CR Abrar, press secretary to the chief advisor Shafiqul Alam, former education secretary Siddique Zubair, the secretary to the Ministry of Defense, Air Chief Marshal Hasan Mahmood Khan, Air Vice Marshal Morshed Mohammed Khair Ul Afsar, Group Captain Rifat Akhtar Ziku, advisor to the governing body of Milestone School and College colonel (retired) Nurun Nabi, principal Mohammad Ziaul Alam, principal (administration) Md Masud Alam, school branch principal Rifat Nabi, the RAJUK chairman, and the RAJUK field supervisor (north).
The petition alleged that on Jul 21 last year, a faulty training aircraft, F-7 BGI, was authorised for take-off at around 1:18pm under the direct supervision of the suspects.
It claimed that a novice pilot flying the aircraft alone lost control due to technical faults, causing it to crash into the Milestone campus.
The application stated that the disaster killed 35 people, including 28 students, three teachers, three guardians and one official, while 172 others suffered severe burn injuries leading to permanent disabilities.
It further alleged that the absence of fire safety systems and structural violations in the building severely hampered rescue operations, resulting in delays that proved fatal for many victims before they could be transported to hospital.
