Ex-home minister Altaf Hossain asked to surrender in graft case

The High Court has asked former home minister and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader Altaf Hossain Chowdhury to surrender to a lower court within four weeks in Barapukuria coalmine graft case. A High Court bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Shahidul Karim passed the order on Wednesday, after dismissing a rule issued following a petition of quashing proceedings of the case against him. There is no legal bar to run the trial proceedings of the case following the HC order, said Korshed Alam Khan, lawyer of Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). On May 28, the Appellate Division dismissed a leave to appeal petition filed by BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia challenging a High Court verdict that cleared the way for running the trial proceedings of the case. On September 17, 2016, High Court rejected a petition filed by Khaleda Zia for quashing proceedings of Barapukuria coalmine corruption case against her. On February 26, 2008, ACC filed a case with Shahbagh police station accusing Khaleda Zia and 10 of her former cabinet colleagues of taking Tk159 crore in kickbacks on the Barapukuria coalmine deal awarded to the highest bidder, instead of the lowest one. Responding to a petition filed by Khaleda, the High Court on October 16, 2008, stayed the case proceedings and issued a ruling asking the ACC to explain why the case should not be quashed. The Appellate Division later upheld the stay order as well. Khaleda, however, managed to secure a permanent bail in the case on January 15, 2012. Following a petition of the ACC, the High Court revived the case on March 2 of that year. On August 23, the High Court turned down two petitions filed by Khaleda seeking all records of and the final report on Barapukuria coalmine graft case from the authorities concerned.