Deposition in graft cases against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia has been deferred.
Abu Ahmed Jamadar, the newly appointed judge of Special Judge Court 3, on Wednesday adjourned till January 7 the deposition in Zia Charitable Trust and Zia Orphanage Trust graft cases against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and eight others.
The court passed the order after defense lawyer Khandakar Mahbub Hossain filed two writ petitions seeking adjournment of taking deposition of the cases.
Khandakar Mahbub Hossain told the Dhaka Tribune: “The court fixed January 7 as the next hearing date of deposition after we appealed for adjournment of the court for the day.”
The BNP Chief accompanied by her party’s senior leaders arrived in the court premises around 12:35pm on Wednesday amid clashes between the activists of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), Jubo League and Jatiatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) in Bakshibazar area.
Khaleda left the court at 1:10pm.
The charge framing hearing of the cases have been deferred several times so far as Khaleda did not turn up to the court on different grounds.
Earlier in the morning, extra security measures have been taken up centring BNP Chairperson Begum Khaeda Zia’s appearance before the court.
Police stopped plying vehicles from BUET crossing, Bakshibazar-Chankharpool crossing and Alia Madrass crossing, allowing only selective lawyers and journalists to enter inside the court after showing their ID cards.
Three water cannons had also seen deployed in the area.
Earlier on May 11, on behalf of Khaleda Zia Supreme Court lawyer Asaduzzaman filed two writ petitions challenging the appointment of Dhaka’s Special Judge Basudev Roy which were rejected by the courts.
On August 8, 2011, the ACC filed the case with Tejgaon police station against four people -- Khaleda, her former political secretary Harris Chowdhury, his assistant personal secretary Ziaul Islam Munna and Manirul Islam Khan, former personal secretary of BNP leader Sadeque Hossain Khoka -- on charge of abusing power for collecting funds from unknown sources.
The IO of the case pressed charges against the accused on January 16, 2012. Of them, Harris has been staying abroad since 2007 while Ziaul and Monirul are now on bail.