Court orders Khaleda to appear in Boropukuria coal mine graft case hearing

A Dhaka court has deferred the hearing of charge framing against BNP chief Khaleda Zia in the Barapukuria coal mine graft case.

The hearing was scheduled for Sunday, but the former prime minister’s lawyers petitioned for more time.
 
The court of Dhaka’s Second Special Judge fixed Aug 10 for the hearing and ordered Khaleda to appear before it on that day.
 
Khaleda and 15 others are accused of causing a loss of about Tk 1.59 billion to the state exchequer by signing a deal with the China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation (CMC) to operate, manage, and maintain the Barapukuria mine.
 
The Anti-Corruption Commission filed the case on Feb 26, 2008 with Shahbagh police and the chargesheet was submitted on Oct 5 the same year.
 
After 11 days, the High Court stayed proceedings for three months and issued a ruling asking why the case should not be scrapped.
 
It was upheld by the Supreme Court, bringing the case to a standstill. Khaleda secured a permanent bail on Jan 15, 2012.
 
The final hearing on the High Court rule started earlier last year after the ACC took the initiative to revive the case.
 
On Sept 17, 2015, the court scrapped Khaleda’s plea and cleared the trial after lifting a freeze on the case’s proceedings.