Khaleda Zia bail: Decisions in three cases on Monday

The High Court will decide on the bail of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia in two Cumilla cases and one Norail case on Monday.

Staff Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 27 May 2018, 10:37 AM
Updated : 28 May 2018, 05:37 AM

The court concluded the bail hearing in the murder case over the fire bombing of a bus in Cumilla’s Chauddagram last Thursday.

Justice AKM Asaduzzaman and Justice JBM Hassan presided over the bail hearings for the Cumilla Anti-Terror case and the Norail defamation case on Sunday.

The lawyers say that bail in all three cases will be announced on Monday.

Though she received a four-month bail in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case, she has not been released due to several other pending cases.

Her bail petitions in two other cases are also before the High Court, but hearings in those two cases have yet to be held.

The two cases filed in Cumilla include a murder case involving the bombing of a bus and a case over the illegal use of explosive substances. The Norail case charges her with defamation.

Eight people were killed after a night coach was petrol bombed in Chauddagram on Feb 3, 2015 during the BNP-Jamaat alliance’s protests. Two separate cases – one for murder, the other under the Explosives Act – were filed over the incident.

A warrant was issued for Khaleda’s arrest after police filed the charge sheet in the two cases. The state then filed to have her shown arrested over the graft case in Dhaka.

The Cumilla Chief Judicial Magistrate’s court then ordered Khaleda Zia to be brought for a hearing on Mar 26. The BNP chief has yet to be brought to court due to her illness.

Khaleda’s lawyers then moved the Cumilla District and Sessions Judge’s court for her bail in the two cases on Apr 23. The hearing has been set for Jun 7. Khaleda’s lawyers then requested the date be brought forward, but the proposal was rejected.

Khaleda’s lawyer Masud Rana said that they have challenged the decision at the High Court and have filed for bail there.

The Norail case accuses the BNP chief of making ‘adverse comments’ regarding the Liberation War death count. The case was filed by Norail district administration Ward-1 member and Noragati Awami League Joint General Raihan Farooki on Dec 24, 2015.

The court issued an arrest warrant against Khaleda Zia in the case in August 2016 after she failed to attend hearings.

Her lawyers filed for bail in the case, but it was dismissed by the trial court. The decision was challenged at the High Court, said Masud Rana.

The BNP chairperson petitioned for bail in the Cumilla and Norail cases on May 20.