Two accused in the Zia Charitable Trust Graft case have expressed their no-confidence in the special court set up in the old Dhaka central jail.
The duo –ZiaulIslam Munna and Monirul Islam Khan–surrendered before Judge Md Akhtaruzzaman’s Special Judge’s Court5 after the expiry of their bails on Monday.
During the hearing, the court sent Ziaul to jail rejecting his new bail plea and extended Monirul’s bail until today.
Submitting the no-confidence petitions, their counsels Aminul Islam and Aktaruzzman said they would file a petition with the High Court and seek transfer of the case to another court.
The lawyers also sought adjournment of trial proceedings for 20 days in the graft case.
The court fixed today to pass its order regarding the no-confidence petitions.
Meanwhile, the court on Monday also extended the bail of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia in the case till today after accepting a petition filed by her lawyer Md Sanaullah Miah.
Sanaullah also submitted another petition seeking adjournment of the hearing till her health improves. But the court rejected it, and directed the prison authorities to provide Khaleda treatment as per the Jail Code.
On September 20, the court had exempted Khaleda from personal appearance and decided to continue the trial in her absence.
The case was filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) at Tejgaon police station in August 2011, accusing Khaleda and three others of abusing power to raise funds for the trust from unknown sources.
The other three accused are Harris Chowdhury, political secretary to former prime minister Khaleda, Ziaul Islam Munna, assistant private secretary to Harris, and Monirul Islam Khan, assistant private secretary to former Dhaka city mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka.
On February 8, the same court had sentenced Khaleda to five years imprisonment in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case.
Five others, including Khaleda’s son Tarique Rahman, were also sentenced to 10 years imprisonment in the case.
Since then, the jail authorities are keepingKhaleda in a building inside the old Dhaka central jail on Nazimuddin road of Old Dhaka.