HC order on Khaleda's bail today

The High Court yesterday fixed today for passing orders on three petitions filed by BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia seeking bail in connection with three cases.

The HC bench of Justice AKM Asaduzzaman and Justice JBM Hassan fixed the date after concluding hearing on the petitions.

Advocate Khandker Mahbub Hossain placed arguments before the HC on behalf of Khaleda Zia, while Attorney General Mahbubey Alam opposed the bail petitions.

Of the three cases, two were filed in Comilla. One was filed on charge of vandalising vehicles on January 25, 2015 and the other on charge of killing eight people and injuring 25-26 by setting fire on a passenger bus in Chauddagram on February 2 the same year.

The third case was filed by Raihan Faruki Imam with a Narail court on September 24, 2015 against Khaleda for making a statement about Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the number of freedom fighters.

Khaleda made the comment on December 21, 2015 at a meeting at the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh in Dhaka where she said Sheikh Mujib did not want independence of the country and wanted to be the prime minister of Pakistan instead.

Khaleda also said there is a controversy over the number of deaths of freedom fighters.

The BNP chairperson filed three petitions through her lawyers with the HC on May 20 seeking bail in the cases.

Earlier on May 16, the SC upheld an HC order that granted bail to Khaleda for four months in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case, in which she was sentenced to five years' imprisonment.

Khaleda, however, was not released from jail following the SC judgement as she was shown arrested in seven other cases, including the three aforementioned ones.