HC extends bail for Khaleda

The High Court yesterday extended bail for six months to former prime minister and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia in the Gatco scam case.
A division bench comprising Justice Sheik Rezowan Ali and Justice M Rais Uddin passed the order upon a petition of Khaleda Zia, Leader of the Opposition in Parliament.
On September 30 in 2007, she had secured interim bail from the High Court in connection with the Gatco graft case, following a writ petition that had challenged the legality of the case.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed the case with Tejgaon Police Station against Khaleda, her younger son Arafat Rahman Koko and others amid a countrywide purge after the 1/11 changeover following a serious political crisis stemming from election issues.
The ACC accused them of awarding a container-handling contract to an inept private firm named Gatco by taking Tk 2.20 crore in kickbacks and thus causing a loss of Tk 1000 crore to the national exchequer.