A Dhaka court yesterday deferred the hearing on charge framing against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and others in connection with the Zia Charitable Trust graft and Zia Orphanage Trust graft cases.
Judge (acting) Md Rezaul Islam of the Special Judge’s Court 3 passed the order after Khaleda’s lawyer submitted a petition seeking adjournment on the hearing.
In the petition hearing, Khaleda’s lawyer Md Sanaullah Miah said the former prime minister could not appear before the court due to lack of proper security.
“She is not the opposition leader now, and the government has already withdrawn the special security given to the opposition leader, so she cannot appear before the court during the blockade programme,” the counsel said.
Anti-Corruption Commission lawyer Mosharraf Hossain Kajol appeared for the state and opposed the prayers.
Bench assistant of the court Md Ariful Islam told the Dhaka Tribune: “So far the charge framing in Zia Orphanage Trust graft case has been deferred 40 times and in Zia Charitable Trust graft case seven times.”
However, after the hearing the court granted time to the defence and the court also set February 16 as the date for charge framing against the accused.
Zia Charitable Trust graft case
On January 15, Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Md Jahrul Haque took cognisance of charges against Khaleda and three others in the case.
The other accused are Khaleda Zia’s former political secretary Harris Chowdhury, his former assistant personal secretary Ziaul Islam Munna and Manirul Islam Khan, the former personal secretary of Sadeque Hossain Khoka.
Of them, Harris Chowdhury left the country in 2007 and has been staying abroad since. He was mentioned in the charge sheet as an “absconding accused” while Ziaul and Monirul are now on bail.
ACC Deputy Director Harunur Rashid, the investigation officer of the case, pressed charges against the accused on January 16, 2012.
According to the case statement, a 2,809 square metre piece of land in the city’s Kakrail area was bought by the trust from one Suraiya Khanam in January 2005, for Tk65.2m.
ACC alleged that Tk12.5m of the amount came from outside the trust’s known sources of income.
Zia Orphanage Trust graft case
The other accused in this case are Mominur Rahman, nephew of Ziaur Rahman, Khaleda’s former principal secretary Dr Kamaluddin Siddique and former BNP lawmakers Kazi Salimul Haque and Sharfuddin Ahmed.
Salimul Haque Kamal and Sharfuddin Ahmed were present in the court during the hearing while Tarique Rahman has been in London since 2008.
Khaleda last appeared before the court on January 15, last year when she secured a permanent bail in the graft case.
