BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia waves to her supporters as she appears before a Dhaka court in the capital to attend the hearing in the Zia Orphanage and Zia Charitable Trust graft cases yesterday. Photo: Palash Khan A Dhaka court yesterday adjourned until November 24 the hearing on the Zia Orphanage and Zia Charitable Trust graft cases against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and eight others. The order c
ame after Khaleda's lawyers had submitted two separate petitions to the trial court, saying three leave to appeal petitions pending with the Supreme Court were yet to be disposed of. The court started the hearing on the two corruption cases around 11:00am in the presence of Khaleda at the courtroom. After the hearing, Judge Bashudev Roy of the Special Judge Court-3 passed the order. At one stage of hearing, the judge told Khaleda that the atmosphere of court remains calm when she is present there. The BNP chief, who appeared before the makeshift court at Bakshi Bazar in compliance with the court's previous order, left the court premises around noon. Earlier on the day, the apex court deferred till November 16 the date for hearing three separate appeals filed by Khaleda regarding the two graft cases. Advertisement During the hearing before the SC, advocate Khandker Mahbub Hossain, counsel for the BNP chief, said he was not prepared for the hearing on the appeals. Khurshid Alam Khan, lawyer for the Anti-Corruption Commission, opposed the adjournment prayers, stating Khaleda's lawyers prayed for the adjournment before the SC while they took time from the trial court on the grounds that the appeals were pending with the apex court. They were doing this only for delaying the trial proceedings of the cases. A good number of leaders and activists of BNP thronged Chankharpul area near the court premises carrying banners, placards and festoons to welcome their party chief. They also chanted slogans, demanding the cancellation of proceedings of the cases. Security measures were beefed up in and around the court premises, and entry of commoners to the area was restricted to avert any untoward incidents on the BNP chairperson's arrival. Police also blocked a road leading to Bakshi Bazar from Dhaka University's Jagannath Hall intersection. It caused immense sufferings for the residents in the area. On October 26, the judge asked for her mandatory attendance yesterday after Khaleda had skipped three previous hearing dates “on grounds of security.” The last time she appeared for the court's hearing on the cases was on September 17 this year. Advocate Sanaullah Miah represented BNP Senior Vice-Chairman Tarique Rahman in his absence, while four others were also present in the makeshift court yesterday. Three others have been absconding. Meanwhile, ACC Deputy Director Harun-or-Rashid, also the complainant of both the cases, appeared before the court to give his full statements in the cases. The anti-graft body had lodged the two cases in 2008 and 2011. According to the charge sheet in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case, Khaleda, Tarique and four others embezzled Tk 2.1 crore by forming the charity that exists only on paper. 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 ACC.
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