Deposition again deferred in Khaleda graft cases

A court hearing two graft cases against BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia has set a new date for witness deposition after granting her plea for more time.

A testimony hearing in the Zia Orphanage Trust and Zia Charitable Trust cases filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission was scheduled on Sunday.

ACC Deputy Director Harun-ur-Rashid, plaintiff in the cases against the BNP chief, was present to depose but the latest order has shifted his testimony to Nov 24.

Basudev Roy of Dhaka's Third Metropolitan Special Judges Court gave the order in Khaleda’s presence.

The former prime minister, accused of embezzling more than Tk 50 million, arrived at the temporarily set up court on the field next to Bakshibazar’s Government Aliya Madrasa at 11:06 am.

Her lawyers cited two ‘leave to appeal’ petitions awaiting hearings in the High Court and sought more time before witnesses were heard.

The judge granted the plea, and Khaleda left the court after the hearing ended in about 20 minutes.

Khaleda’s last appearance in court was on Sept 3. She stayed away from the subsequent ones citing security reasons and the ‘leave to appeals’ filed at the High Court.

The court, on Sept 22, rejected her plea for more time and began hearing witnesses in her absence.

Judge Basudev Roy had indicted Khaleda in both the cases on March 19.

The BNP chief then moved the High Court, saying the charges against her ‘were not framed properly’ but her appeal was rejected.

In 2008, the ACC filed the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case against six people including Khaleda and her son Tarique Rahman, accusing them of siphoning off Tk 21 million from funds meant for the trust, which reportedly came from a foreign bank.

In 2011, the ACC sued the BNP chief and three others for pocketing Tk 31.5 million of the Zia Charitable Trust.