HC rejects Khaleda’s plea to reinvestigate her graft case

The High Court has rejected BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s petition, filed seeking reinvestigation on a portion of Zia Orphanage Trust graft case. A bench comprising Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Shahidul Karim passed the order on Thursday. The petition was filed on March 1. “Now the trial proceedings in the case will continue as usual," Khurshid Alam Khan, counsel of the Anti-Corruption Commission, told the Dhaka Tribune. However, Khaleda's lawyers said that they would move an appeal soon. The same bench on Wednesday ordered to shift the corruption case to Dhaka’s Senior Metropolitan Special Sessions Judge’s Court from the Special Judge’s Court 3 of Dhaka, accepting a plea filed by Khaleda. It also asked the trial court to finish the proceedings within 60 days. Former prime minister Khaleda, her eldest son Tarique Rahman and four others stand accused of embezzling Tk2.1 crore from the orphanage trust fund. Trial in the case is in the final stage. The Anti-Corruption Commission filed a case against them in 2008. On February 3, the special court rejected Khaleda’s “no confidence” plea, saying she had been trying to disrupt the trial proceedings. Khaleda then moved the High Court on February 8. She had requested for transferring the court and sought a stay order on the case proceedings.