Three accused Biman employees granted bail

A Dhaka court yesterday granted bail to three Biman Bangladesh Airlines employees accused in a case filed for their alleged negligence in duty on a flight that carried Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in November 2016.

The accused are SA Siddique, chief engineer (quality assurance); Shah Alam, engineer (technician); and Najmul Haq, engineer (officer).

Metropolitan Magistrate Pronab Kumar Hui passed the order after they surrendered before the court and sought bail in the case.

Earlier on May 15, another Dhaka court asked the three officials to appear before it after Counter-terrorism and Transnational Crime Unit filed a case against them for their alleged negligence while on duty on the flight carrying the PM.   

On April 4, a Dhaka court accepted the final report submitted on December 7 last year and cleared 11 Biman employees of attempted sabotage on the aircraft carrying the PM in 2016.

The 11 Biman staffers are SM Rokonuzzaman, Samiul Haque, Lutfor Rahman, Milon Chandra Biswas, Zakir Hossain and Siddiqur Rahman of Biman's engineering and technical department; Debesh Chowdhury, chief engineer (production); SA Siddique, chief engineer (quality assurance); Billal Hossain, principal engineer; Shah Alam, engineer (technician); and Najmul Haq, engineer (officer).

But three of them were charged with negligence in duty during  the PM's flight and CTTC appealed to the court to file a case against them.

On November 27, 2016, the VVIP flight carrying Hasina made an emergency landing at Ashgabat International Airport in Turkmenistan on her way to Budapest after a loose nut caused engine oil leak and oil pressure loss in engine no-1 of the Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. 

On December 21 that year, wing commander (retd) MM Asaduzzaman, director of engineering and material management of Biman, filed the case against nine staffers under the Special Powers Act with Airport Police Station.