Khaleda visits Coco’s grave after attending court hearing

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia has visited the grave of Arafat Rahman Coco in Dhaka and offered prayers after attending a court hearing in Zia Orphanage Trust graft case.

Coco, the younger of the two sons of Khaleda and BNP founder Ziaur Rahman, died in Malaysia on Jan 24, 2015. He was buried in Banani Graveyard.

The court earlier granted Khaleda a reprieve from attending the hearing on the anniversary of Coco’s death, but she did not skip it.

By the time she arrived in the Fifth Special Judge’s Court of Dhaka in Bakshibazar at noon, it had already started hearing defence arguments.

Ahsan Ullah, the lawyer for accused Sharfuddin Ahmed, said at the hearing that Khaleda and former principal secretary to the PM Kamal Uddin Siddique were named in the case ‘only to make it weighty’.

Sanaullah Mia, a lawyer for Khaleda, said the court should notice how much respect Khaleda has showed to the court by attending the hearing even on the death anniversary of her son.

After the hearing, Khaleda returned home at Gulshan. She later went to Banani with the members of her family to offer prayers next to Coco’s grave in the afternoon.

She also recited the Quran beside the grave.

Her sister Selina Islam, late brother Sayeed Eskandar’s widow Nasrin Ahmed, younger brother Shamim Eskandar and his wife Kaniz Fatema were at her side.

BNP leaders, including Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Standing Committee members Mirza Abbas and Nazrul Islam Khan, were also present.

Special prayers were organised at Khaleda’s home and office in Gulshan in the evening and at the party's Naya Paltan headquarters in the morning.