DHAKA: BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia appeared before the court on Thursday (December 8) to complete her unfinished defense speech in Zia Charitable Trust graft case.

The BNP leader started reading the written speech on December 1 under the section 342.

The BNP chief also attended the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case.

Earlier in the day, two other accused in the charitable trust graft case Ziaul Islam Munn and Monirul Islam Khan gave their defense speech before the court.

The trial of the two lawsuits, filed by Anti Corruption Commission (ACC), is underway at the Bakshibazar makeshift court of third Special Judge Abu Ahmed Jamader.

Earlier, Khaleda left her Gulshan residence for the court around 10:40 am.

The law enforcing agencies have beefed up the security in the court area in this regard.

ACC filed the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case on July 3, 2008 with Ramna Police Station accusing Khaleda, her eldest son Tarique Rahman and four others of misappropriating Tk over 2.10-crore, which came as grants from a foreign bank for orphans.

The other accused are former BNP lawmaker Kazi Saleemul Haque, businessperson Sharfuddin Ahmed, Khaleda’s former principal secretary Kamal Uddin Siddiqui and Momenur Rahman.

On August 8, 2011, ACC filed the Zia Charitable Trust Graft Case
with Tejgaon Police Station accusing four people, including Khaleda Zia, of abusing power in raising funds for the trust from unknown sources.

The other accused in the case are Harris Chowdhury, Ziaul Islam Munna, assistant private secretary (APS) to Harris, Monirul Islam Khan and APS to Sadeque Hossain Khoka, mayor of the erstwhile Dhaka City Corporation.

BDST: 1247 HRS, DEC 08, 2016
SR/SMS