DHAKA: A Dhaka court on Thursday (December 8) shifted the date to December 15 for placing the rest of defense speech of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia in Zia Charitable Trust graft case.
The third Special Judge Abu Ahmed Jamader of Bakshibazar makeshift court fixed the date after her lawyers had said they filed an appeal plea with the High Court (HC) in this regard.
Earlier, the BNP leader started reading the written defense speech on December 1 under the section 342.
The BNP chief also attended the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case trial which is also being held at the court of Judge Abu Ahmed Jamader.
Lawyers Abdur Razzaq Khan, AJ Mohammad Ali, Khandaker Mahbub Hossain, Sanaullah Mia, Mohsin Mia, Borhan Uddin, Nuruzzaman Tapan and Rezaul Karim were moving for Khaleda Zia in the court while Advocate Mosharraf Hossain Kajal moved for ACC.
Earlier in the day, two other accused in the charitable trust graft case, Ziaul Islam Munna and Monirul Islam Khan, gave their defense speech before the court.
Meanwhile, an HC bench comprising Justice Farid Ahmad and Justice AKM Shahidul Haq felt embarrassed to hear a petition filed by Khaleda Zia about taking re-deposition of 32 witnesses in the Zia Charitable Trust graft case.
The bench also sent the plea to the Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha.
AJ Mohammad Ali, Joynul Abedin and Barrister Mahbub Uddin Khokon moved in favor of the plea in the court while Khurshid Alam Khan moved for ACC.
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: 1458 HRS, DEC 08, 2016
SR/SMS
