Dhaka, Oct. 4 -- 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...