ACC for revival of Gatco case against Khaleda

The Anti-Corruption Commission yesterday prayed to the High Court for reviving the Gatco graft case against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia filed in 2007.

The anti-graft watchdog urged the court to initiate a hearing on a HC rule that had questioned the legality of filing the case under the Emergency Power Rules (EPR), 2007.

ACC lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan appealed to the HC bench of Justice Md Moinul Chowdhury and Justice JBM Hassan to include the matter in its today's cause-list for fixing a date for the hearing.

The move comes at a time when several lawmakers inside and outside of parliament are demanding legal steps be taken against Khaleda, describing her as the “mastermind” behind the ongoing 20-party blockade violence.

The case was filed against the              BNP chief, her son Arafat Rahman Koko, Jamaat-e-Islami leader Matiur Rahman Nizami, and 21 others with Tejgaon Police Station on charges of corruption in awarding Global Agro Trade (Pvt) Co Ltd (Gatco) a contract for container management at inland container depots in Dhaka and Chittagong.

The graft caused the state exchequer a loss of over Tk 1,000 crore. Later, the case was brought under the EPR.

On September 30, 2007, the HC granted Khaleda bail in the case and issued a rule upon the government and ACC to explain why bringing the charges under the EPR should not be declared illegal.

Following another petition, the court on July 15, 2008 stayed the proceedings of the case against her and issued another rule upon the government and anti-graft watchdog to explain why the proceedings should not be quashed.

 The ACC lawyer yesterday told The Daily Star that he was unaware of any reply to the rule.