Khaleda seeks bail from High Court in deadly Cumilla arson attack case

BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia has pleaded for bail in the High Court in a case over deaths in the 2014 arson attack in Cumilla during protests.

Staff Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 20 Jan 2019, 04:52 PM
Updated : 20 Jan 2019, 04:52 PM

Kaiser Kamal, one of the lawyers for the BNP chief, submitted the bail petition to the High Court on Sunday.

“Bail can be sought from the High Court even though another bail petition is pending in the judge court because the High Court has the inherent power to grant bail,” he told bdnews24.com, referring to a bail petition in the same case pending in a judge court.

“Now it’s up to the High Court to decide on the matter. We have submitted the bail application on her behalf,” he added.

The bench of Justice Md Rezaul Haque and Justice Zafar Ahmed may hear the plea, according to the lawyer.

The charge-framing and bail hearing in the case was slated for Jan 16.

But Additional District and Sessions Court Judge M Ali Akbar deferred the hearing on an application for adjournment by the state.

Before that, the indictment and bail petition hearing had been postponed on Jan 9 due to the vacancies left by retirements in the position of Cumilla District and Sessions Judge.

On Feb 3, 2015, eight people were killed and 27 injured when petrol bombs were hurled at an Icon Paribahan bus in Chauddagram during a strike called by the BNP-Jamaat-e-Islami alliance.

SI Nuruzzaman Hawladar filed two separate cases at the Chauddagram Police Station over the incident, one for murder and another under the Explosives Act.

Chauddagram Police Station SI Md Ibrahim filed a charge sheet with the court after investigating the cases for over two years.

The cases charge Khaleda with ordering the attack. She has been shown arrested in both cases.

Khaleda has been in prison since February last year. She has been sentenced to 17 years in prison in the Zia Orphanage and Zia Charitable Trust corruption cases. She is serving the sentences at the old central jail on Nazimuddin Road in Old Dhaka.