Akhtaruzzaman’s bail hearing turns chaotic as rival lawyers scuffle in court
Staff Correspondent
A bail hearing for Jamaat-e-Islami leader retired major Mohammad Akhtaruzzaman Ranjan has descended into a courtroom scuffle in Dhaka.
The clash broke out between BNP- and Jamaat-backed lawyers at Metropolitan Magistrate Jamshed Alam’s court on Sunday.
Amid the uproar, the judge left the bench.
The bail hearing was held in a case accusing Akhtaruzzaman of threatening the executive director of Shahjalal airport and assaulting a security supervisor.
Akhtaruzzaman was brought into court at around 2:38pm wearing a helmet and handcuffs, with BNP- and Jamaat-backed lawyers already filling the courtroom.
About two minutes later, Magistrate Jamshed took the bench.
A dispute over where lawyers could stand quickly turned into a scuffle, prompting the magistrate to leave for his chamber at around 2:41pm.
The situation settled after interventions by state counsel Omar Faruq Faruqi and defence lawyer Abdur Razzaq.
The magistrate returned to the bench about two minutes later.
