CANTT HOUSE ROWKhaleda asked to remove belongings

Dhaka, Dec 2 (bdnews24) — The cantonment board has asked BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia to remove her belongings from her previous Moinul Hossain Road residence. A lawyer of the opposition leader said this after his talks with officials of the cantonment board. The lawyer, who preferred not to be named, told bdnews24.com, "I came to know in the morning that the cantonment board was shifting goods from the house. I met the board's chief executive officer in his office and he told me that we could start removing the household goods on Friday." The lawyer added that though he had showed interest to shift the goods from Thursday, the cantonment board officer did not agree with him. Earlier, BNP standing committee member Rafiqul Islam Mia told reporters that they have heard the household belongings were being shifted. "If they actually do that, it will be illegal," he said. Rumour had it since Thursday that the cantonment board was removing Khaleda's household goods from the house. When asked, attorney general Mahbubey Alam said he had no knowledge of it. "As far as I know, Khaleda Zia has already shifted 51 cartons of goods from the house." When contacted, the cantonment board rejected the allegation. A board official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said: "The news was baseless. Instead, the board asked Khaleda to remove her belongings from the house." He said if the goods were not removed within the given time, the cantonment board would make a list and keep those in the storeroom of the quarter guard. He confirmed that the message had been conveyed to the opposition leader. The cantonment board on Nov 13 took possession of the 6 Shaheed Moinul Hossain Road house. Khaleda Zia had to evacuate it as the High Court's stipulated time had expired. Khaleda Zia is now living in her younger brother Shamim Eskander's house at Gulshan. bdnews24/sm/ach/shk/tk/mr/2152h