Khaleda to lose bail if she fails to appear in court

A Dhaka court has warned BNP chief Khaleda Zia that her bail will scrapped if she fails to appear before it on Jan 9.

Court Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 1 Dec 2016, 07:44 AM
Updated : 1 Dec 2016, 10:08 AM

The court of Metropolitan Sessions Judge Quamrul Hossain Molla was scheduled on Thursday to hold the hearings of indictment in 10 cases, including for sedition.

But her counsels asked for more time, which the court granted.

The hearing was rescheduled for Jan 9, but the judge warned that it would cancel the former prime minister's bail if she fails to attend, said Additional Prosecutor Tapash Paul.

Sedition charge

Speaking at a discussion on Dec 21 last year, Khaleda expressed doubts about the government's claims that nearly three million people had died during the 1971 Liberation War.

“There is a debate about how many hundreds of thousands were martyred in the Liberation War. Different books give different accounts,” she said.

The BNP chief had also said that Bangabandhu wanted to be the prime minister of undivided Pakistan rather than lead the country to independence.

Awami League and Supreme Court lawyer Mumtaz Uddin Ahmed Mehedi sued the former prime minister for her remarks and bought charges of sedition.

8 cases of violence

After the BNP was prevented from holding a rally on Jan 5 last year to protest the anniversary of the 10th Bangladesh Parliamentary Elections, Khaleda Zia called a nationwide blockade.

In the course of the blockade that lasted 90 days, vehicles and buildings were fire-bombed , leading to almost 150 deaths.

Numerous sabotage cases were filed at the time. Nine cases accusing Khaleda Zia were filed at the Darus Salam police station, eight under the Special Powers Act.

The court granted Khaleda bail in the cases. The cases under the Special Powers Act are awaiting an indictment hearing at the moment.

Jatrabarhi firebombing case

A petrol bomb explosion in Jatrabari’s Kather Pool area during last year’s blockades led to the injury of 30 bus passengers. One of the victims, Noor Alam, later died from his injuries.

Jatrabarhi police filed two cases, where Khaleda has been accused of inciting the attack.

Police pressed charges on the former prime minister and 37 others in the cases, one for the death and the other under the Explosives Act.