Photo: Collected-
Metropolis Report-
The hearing on charging BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and 14 other individuals in the Gatco graft case was postponed today by a Dhaka court until May 17.
After receiving requests for an adjournment from the defense attorneys of various accused people, Judge Muhammad Ali Hussain of the Special Judge’s Court-3 in Dhaka issued the order. The hearing on the charge framing in the case has been postponed 45 times by defense attorneys.
According to Khaleda’s attorney, Khaleda is currently ill and is undergoing treatment at her Gulshan home after being granted restricted release by the government. In her absence, attorney Masud represented her in court today. There were eleven more suspects in court today, including Khondaker Mosharraf.
Khaleda and numerous others were accused by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) of stealing close to Tk 1,000 crore while working at Global Agro Trade (Pvt) Company Ltd. on September 2, 2007, and the case was filed with the Tejgaon Police Station.
Nine suspects, including Khaleda’s younger son Arafat Rahman Koko, had their names removed from the investigation because they had already passed away. The Niko and Barapukuria coalmine graft trials are among the 33 more cases against Khaleda that are currently ongoing in courts around the nation.
