Khaleda faces 13 cases

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia is facing 13 cases.

Of the lawsuits, two are Zia Orphanage Trust and Zia Charitable Trust graft cases in which she secured bail after appearing before a Dhaka court yesterday.

A High Court bench yesterday sent the BNP chief's four petitions, filed in 2008 challenging the legality of the proceedings of Barapukuria coal mine, Gatco and Niko corruption cases, to the chief justice for “necessary orders”.

The cases were lodged by the Anti-Corruption Commission.

Khaleda stands accused in five other cases filed during the ongoing nonstop blockade called by the BNP-led 20-party alliance. The investigation into the cases is underway.

On January 23, two cases were lodged with Jatrabari Police Station in the capital against the BNP chief for “instigating” an arson attack on a bus in the area that killed three people.

Three days later, Khaleda was sued for “instigating” another arson attack on a vehicle at Chauddagram in Comilla. Several were killed in the incident.   

She was accused as the mastermind in another arson case filed with Phultala Police Station in Khulna in connection with torching a bus in Damodor in February.

Police in the case statement mentioned that the BNP-Jamaat men set fire to the vehicle on the BNP chairperson's instructions.

Khaleda was named the prime accused in another case filed on February 16 for launching a crude bomb attack on a rally of Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan outside her office at Gulshan in the capital. The case was lodged with Gulshan Police Station.

Besides, three defamation cases were also filed with courts last year against the BNP chief.

PETITIONS

An HC bench was set to deliver its verdict on Khaleda's petition against Barapukuria coal mine graft case yesterday.

Citing an order on the petition, ACC counsel Khurshid Alam Khan told The Daily Star that the bench sent the plea to the chief justice due to “unprofessional and unethical conduct of the lawyers for the petitioner [Khaleda]”.

He said the lawyers did not appear before the bench for placing arguments, although the bench had fixed three dates for the hearing.  

On April 2, Khaleda had submitted an application to the chief justice through her lawyers, expressing her no-confidence in the HC bench. In the application, she also prayed for transferring the plea to another bench.

Khaleda's lawyer Bodroddoza Badal yesterday informed the HC bench about his client's no-confidence.

Attorney General Mahbubey Alam said the chief justice might send the petitions to another bench or return those to the same one led by Justice Moinul Islam Chowdhury.

The ACC filed the Niko and Gatco corruption cases in 2007 and Barapukuria coal mine graft case in 2008.

Following Khaelda's petitions , the HC issued rules upon the ACC and the government to explain why the cases should not be scrapped and why their initiations against her should not be declared illegal.