BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia is likely to appear before a Dhaka court today in the charge frame hearing in Zia Orphanage and Zia Charitable Trust graft cases.
The chairperson’s counsel Md Sanaullah Miah told the Dhaka Tribune that, “Khaleda Zia will appear in the Special Judge Court no-3 around 12:00pm.”
Md Ariful Islam, bench officer of the court, said the newly appointed Judge Basudev Roy would hear the cases today, which was fixed on February 16.
Earlier on January 15 last year, Khaleda secured permanent bail in the cases and the court on February 16 this year granted a time petition to Khaleda until today for the last time to frame the charge.
With this deferral, the court had adjourned the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case 41 times and the Zia Charitable Trust graft case 11 times for charge frame hearing.
Zia Charitable Trust graft case
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.
Zia Orphanage Trust graft case
The ACC filed the case with Ramna police station on July 3, 2008, accusing Khaleda, her son Tarique Rahman and four others, for misappropriating over Tk2.10 crore from the trust, the amount came as “grants” from a foreign bank.
The four accused are Mominur Rahman, nephew of late president Ziaur Rahman, Khaleda’s former Principal Secretary Dr Kamal Uddin Siddique, and BNP’s former lawmakers Kazi Salimul Haque and Sharfuddin Ahmed.
On August 5, 2010, the IO of the case submitted charge sheet.
