11 Hasina cases on course to be dropped
The metropolitan public prosecutor has recommended that 11 cases against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina be withdrawn, as they were filed to “tarnish the image of the Awami League chief and her previous government”.
PP Abdullah Abu, who will pray to the court concerned for withdrawal of the cases on getting a clearance from the government, sent his recommendations on nine cases to the district magistrate yesterday and the day before, said officials at the PP's office.
The magistrate will now forward those to the home ministry.
Earlier last week, the law officer suggested that the Meghnaghat power plant and Bepza graft cases against the AL president be dismissed as those were filed by the last BNP-led alliance government for "political harassment".
Talking to The Daily Star yesterday, Abdullah Abu said the cases he thinks should be dismissed include two graft cases filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) during the caretaker government rule.
Of the two, one deals with 'corruption' in awarding barge-mounted power plants and the other concerns 'graft' in approving a gas exploration deal in favour of Canadian company Niko.
Also among the cases suggested for withdrawal are those filed by the last BNP government for graft in purchase of MiG-29s for the air force and Frigate for the navy, and construction of Bangabandhu Planetarium (now Bhashani Novo Theatre), and illegal entry in the cantonment area to visit the now deceased writer Humayun Azad at CMH.
“The BNP-Jamaat government filed the cases against Sheikh Hasina to undermine her government's success, tarnish her image at home and abroad, and to harass her politically,” the PP wrote to the district magistrate while furnishing his opinions on the Frigate graft case.
The then AL led government purchased the Frigate for the navy considering national interests and following proper procurement rules, sources said quoting the PP's letter.
Officials at the PP's office said similar suggestions have been made on the other cases against Hasina.
The state prosecutor, however, has not yet rendered his opinion on the Paltan killings case filed against Hasina by Jamaat-e-Islami.
Meanwhile, the district magistrate has yet to send for scrutiny by the public prosecutor the petitions filed by BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and her family for withdrawal of 20 cases filed against them during the caretaker government, said sources at the magistrate's office.
Since the government's move to review "politically motivated" cases, over 1,100 applications have been submitted to Dhaka District Magistrate and Deputy Commissioner Zillar Rahman.
On receiving an application, the district magistrate's office usually sends it for the PP's opinions. On getting the feedback, he forwards the application to the home ministry.
The home ministry, in turn, will place the petition before the law ministry's high-powered committee to decide whether the law officer should move to have the case quashed.
On nod from the government, the PP will file a petition with the competent court for withdrawal of the case.
Whether a case should be quashed however is at the court's discretion.
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