Published: 12:17 AM, 08 May 2026
Petition filed to sue Dr. Yunus over Milestone tragedy
A petition has been submitted to a Dhaka court seeking permission to file a case against 16 individuals, among them former interim government Chief Adviser Dr. Muhammad Yunus, over alleged negligence linked to the military aircraft crash at Milestone School and College in Uttara. The application was lodged on Thursday in the court of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Ariful Islam by Usaimong Marma, whose son, Ukkya Chaing Marma, was killed in the incident.
Those named in the petition also include former interim government law adviser Dr. Asif Nazrul, environment adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan, education adviser CR Abrar, chief adviser's press secretary Shafiqul Alam, former education secretary Siddique Zubair, the defense secretary, Air Chief Marshal Hasan Mahmood Khan, Air Vice Marshal Morshed Mohammed Khair Ul Afsar, Group Captain Rifat Akhtar Ziku, governing body adviser of Milestone School and College Colonel (Retd.) Nurun Nabi, principal Mohammad Ziaul Alam, administration principal Md Masud Alam, school branch principal Rifat Nabi, the chairman of RAJUK, and a RAJUK field supervisor from the northern zone. According to the plaintiff's lawyer, AKM Sharif Uddin, the court is expected to decide on the matter after recording the complainant's statement. The tragedy occurred on the afternoon of July 21 last year, when a Bangladesh Air Force training jet crashed into a building on the Milestone School and College campus. The accident, regarded as the deadliest air disaster in the country's history, claimed 36 lives, many of them children.
An investigation committee later submitted its findings to then-chief adviser Dr. Muhammad Yunus on November 5.
The report concluded that pilot error during a training exercise was responsible for both the crash and the resulting casualties.
According to the complaint, students had been attending classes normally on the day of the incident. Around 1:18pm, the F-7 BGI training aircraft - described in the petition as mechanically faulty and under the supervision of the accused individuals - was cleared for flight operations.
The petition alleges that the inexperienced pilot lost control of the fighter aircraft, causing it to crash into the school premises. It claims the disaster killed 35 people, including 28 students, three teachers, three guardians, and one director, while another 172 individuals suffered burn injuries and permanent disabilities.
The complaint further alleges that the school building lacked an adequate fire safety system and had not been constructed in compliance with proper regulations, factors that reportedly obstructed rescue efforts.
As a result, despite emergency responders arriving quickly, several victims reportedly died before they could receive hospital treatment.
