Security tightened at court area ahead of Khaleda Zia's arrival

Security has been tightened in and around a special Dhaka court in which BNP chief Khaleda Zia is expected to appear in the hearing of a graft case.

Barricades have been erected on the streets leading to the court, set up at Dhaka's Alia Madrasa grounds, since Wednesday morning with additional police deployment.

Chawkbazar police OC Azizul Haque said the security precautions were meant to prevent any untoward incident over Khaleda's appearance in court in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case.

People are being thoroughly searched by law enforces before being allowed to pass through the area.

Khaleda Zia last appeared on Nov 9 before the special court in Old Dhaka but had skipped several dates since then.

Dhaka’s Special Judge Basudeb Roy began recording statements of the witnesses on Nov 11 after several deferments since the court framed charges against her on Mar 19 this year.

The court could not complete recording the testimony of the prosecutor and prime witness, Harun-or-Rashid of the Anti Corruption Commission, on the last four dates due to repeated postponement sought by Khaleda’s lawyers.

The court’s new judge, Abu Ahmed Jamadar, who replaced Roy, will conduct the hearing on Wednesday.