Khaleda trial to continue at Bakshi Bazar
Khaleda trial to continue at Bakshi Bazar
The trial of two corruption cases against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and her elder son Tarique Rahman will now take place at a makeshift court in the capital’s Bakshi Bazar.
The trial in both Zia Charitable Trust and Zia Orphanage Trust graft cases will begin on May 21.
The government has shifted the cases from Dhaka Judge’s Court to the makeshift court set up for dealing with the 2009 BDR mutiny cases due to security reasons.
A law ministry press release today said the government on April 30 issued a gazette notification in this regard.
The press release added that the move has been taken as judge’s court remains crowded, with a huge number of cases running simultaneously.
Earlier on March 19, Judge Bashudev Roy of the Special Judge’s Court-3 framed the charges against Khaleda, Tarique and seven others in the corruption cases.
The former prime minister was indicted in both Zia Charitable Trust and Zia Orphanage Trust graft cases, and Tarique, senior vice-chairman of the BNP, in the Orphanage case.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) had filed the cases.
ZIA ORPHANAGE CASE
The ACC accused Khaleda, Tarique and four others of embezzling Tk 2.1 crore by forming the Zia Orphanage Trust that exists only on paper.
The other four accused are former BNP lawmaker Kazi Salimul Haque, businessman Sharfuddin Ahmed, Khaleda's former principal secretary Kamal Uddin Siddiqui and BNP founder Ziaur Rahman's nephew Momenur Rahman.
Of them, Kamal and Momenur are on the run. The court issued arrest warrants for them yesterday.
The complainant alleged that a grant of $1,255,000 (around Tk 4.45 crore that time) was transferred from the United Saudi Commercial Bank to the Prime Minister's Orphanage Fund created by the then premier Khaleda shortly before the transfer was made on June 9, 1991.
It was done as part of the embezzlement scheme, and only Khaleda administered the fund, added the complainant.
ZIA CHARITABLE TRUST CASE
During the four-party alliance government's tenure, Khaleda and three others abused power to set up a Charitable Trust named after Ziaur Rahman, according to the commission.
The other three accused are Harris Chowdhury, Khaleda's former political secretary, Ziaul Islam Munna, assistant private secretary of Harris, and Monirul Islam Khan, APS of former Dhaka City Corporation mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka.
Harris is absconding while Monirul and Munna are on bail. The court issued arrest warrant for Harris yesterday.
The ACC mentioned that the money spent for establishing the trust was collected from different sources, using the influence of the office of prime minister in 2005.
Just in a week from January 13, 2005, Tk 7.81 crore was deposited with the trust account, opened by Khaleda as the first managing trustee, at Sonali Bank branch at the Prime Minister's Office.
Of the amount spent on setting up the trust, Tk 2.87 crore came from unknown sources.