All ten Biman officials get bail

After a year of their arrest, a Dhaka court yesterday granted bail to ten suspended Biman officials accused in a case filed over technical glitch in a Biman aircraft carrying Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in November 2016.

Meantime, the court ordered to transfer case to the Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court, which will decide whether to accept the final report.

Metropolitan Magistrate Subrata Ghosh Shuvo passed the order after lawyers of the accused moved separate petitions seeking bail in the case.

In the order, the magistrate said they were granted bail as the investigation officer of the case on Thursday submitted a probe report clearing all the accused of the charges.

The 10 Biman employees 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 and Shah Alam, engineer (technician).

Of them, Najmul Haq, engineer (officer), earlier secured bail from the High Court.

Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) Assistant Commissioner Mahbubul Alam, also the investigation officer of the case, on Thursday submitted the final report to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court of Dhaka.

In the report, the IO said even though charges of sabotage and sedition brought against the accused were not proven, they should be more cautious while discharging their duties.

But the investigation found evidence of neglectful use of sub-standard parts for operating the aircraft by three of the accused.       

So, the three accused -- Siddiqur Rahman, Shah Alam and Najmul Haq -- should be brought under trial for their alleged involvement with neglectful operation of the flight carrying Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

The VVIP flight carrying Hasina made an emergency landing on November 27 last year at Ashgabat International Airport in Turkmenistan after a loose nut caused engine oil leakage and oil pressure loss in engine 1 of the Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.

On December 21, Wing Commander (retd) MM Asaduzzaman, director of engineering and material management of Biman, filed the case against nine Biman employees under the Special Powers Act with Airport Police Station. Two more Biman officials were arrested later.