A Dhaka court on Thursday adjourned till November 17 the indictment hearing in Barapukuria coal mine graft case against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and others.
Judge AHM Ruhul Imran of Dhaka Special Judge’s Court 2 passed the order following a time petition filed by Khaleda’s Counsel Masud Ahamed Talukder in the case.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on February 26, 2008 filed the graft case against Khaleda Zia and 15 others with Shahbagh police station.
On February 26, 2008, the ACC assistant director Md Samsul Alam filed the case, accusing Khaleda and 15 others for causing a loss of Tk159 crore to the state exchequer by awarding a contract for the operation of Barapukuria coal mine to a Chinese company abusing power.
On October 5, 2008 ACC submitted a charge sheet against BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia along with ten of her former cabinet colleagues and five others in the case.
The charge-sheeted accused are Khaleda’s former cabinet colleagues M Saifur Rahman, Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, Khandakar Mosharraf Hossain, Matiur Rahman Nizami, M Shamsul Islam, MK Anwar, Aminul Haque, Altaf Hossain Chowdhury, Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid and AKM Mosharraf Hossain.
Former energy secretary Nazrul Islam, Petrobangla’s former chairman SR Osmani and former director Moinul Ahsan, former managing director of the Barapukuria Coal Mining Company Sirajul Islam, and chairman of Hosaf Group Moazzem Hossain.
Of the 16, seven have already died and their names are expected to be dropped from the case during framing of the charges next month.
