Khaleda Zia in court

Staff Correspondent: Bangladesh Nationalist Party Chairperson Khaleda Zia is now in the makeshift court set up at Bakshibazar in the capital.

Khaleda, also a former prime minister, reached the court around 1.40pm. She started for the court from her Gulshan residence around 11:45am amid a tight security.

The verdict in Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case filed against Khaleda Zia, her son Tarique Rahman and four others will be delivered today.

Law enforcement agencies have taken all necessary preparations to deal with any kind of political chaos over the verdict.

Judge Md Akhtaruzzaman of Dhaka’s Fifth Special Judge’s Court will deliver the verdict in the graft case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) during the last army-backed caretaker government in 2008.

After recording testimonies of 32 prosecution witnesses and arguments of both prosecution and defence lawyers during hearings, the court on January 24 set February 8 for delivering the judgment.

The special judge’s court was set up at the Parade Ground of Dhaka Central Jail Directorate at Bakshibazar in the capital to try the graft case.

ACC lodged Zia Orphanage Trust graft case against BNP chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia and five others with Ramna Police Station on July 3, 2008, for embezzling Taka 2.10 crore meant for the orphans.

The other accused are Khaleda's son and BNP senior vice-president Tarique Rahman, former lawmaker Qazi Salimul Haque Kamal, businessman Sharfuddin Ahmed, Dr Kamal Uddin Siddiqui, and her nephew Mominur Rahman.

Chief public prosecutor of the case Mosharraf Hossain Kajol said all the six accused may get maximum punishment as the prosecution proved the allegation against them in the graft case.

Khaleda’s lawyer Md Sanaullah Miah, however, expressed the hope that the former prime minister will be acquitted of the charges.


risingbd/Dhaka/Feb 8, 2018/Reza/Mukul