Investigator made fake documents

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia's lawyer AJ Mohammad Ali yesterday alleged that the investigation officer of the Anti-Corruption Commission had made fake documents and records to prepare Zia Orphanage Trust graft case.

Ali, also a former attorney general, said Harun-or-Rashid, the IO, had also given "false statements" supporting the fake records at the court.

He made the allegations while placing arguments for the sixth consecutive day in the graft case before the Special Judge's Court at Bakshibazar in Old Dhaka.

Khaleda reached the court earlier around 11:00am.

Mentioning the dates of the submission of complainant's statement and the charge sheet, the senior counsel for the former prime minister said the investigation was supposed to be completed within 45 working days as per rule.

"If the investigation cannot be completed within 45 days, the investigation officer can take 15 additional days to complete the task. But it took 395 working days to complete the investigation and all those fake documents and records were made within that period," he argued.

Pointing to different sections of concerned rules, laws and the proceedings of the Prime Minister's Office, Mohammad Ali said the records were not prepared as per rules.

Earlier, two defence lawyers placed arguments in the case.

Mohammad Ali, the third lawyer, would also continue his arguments today as the court adjourned the proceedings till this morning.

ACC lawyer Mosharraf Hossain Kajal first completed his arguments and sought life imprisonment for Khaleda and five other accused in the graft case.

In July 2008, the ACC filed the graft case with Ramna police accusing Khaleda, her son Tarique Rahman and four others of misappropriating over Tk 2.1 crore that had come as grants for orphans from a foreign bank.

Three years later, the anti-graft body filed the Zia Charitable Trust graft case with Tejgaon police, accusing four people, including Khaleda, of abusing power to raise funds for the trust from unknown sources.

Meanwhile, witnesses yesterday said police barred pro-BNP activists, who were marching with Khaleda Zia's motorcade, near High Court Mazar gate area around 3:15pm, when she was returning from Bakshibazar.

As police picked up six to seven BNP activists on their van, some BNP activists hurled brick bats at them, they said.

Contacted, Deputy Commissioner (Ramna division) Maruf Hossain Sorder of Dhaka Metropolitan Police confirmed the incident.

He said police detained some people over the incident from the spot. Two to three policemen were hurt in the incident.