Arrest warrant issued against Tarique, Zubaida in graft case

A Dhaka court today accepted the charges against BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman and his wife Zubaida Rahman in a graft case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).

Judge Md Asaduzzaman of Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge's Court passed the order after scrutinising the case dockets and other relevant documents.

The judge also issued arrest warrants against them and directed the officer-in-charge of Cantonment Police Station to submit by January 5 the progress report on execution of the arrest warrants against them.

On June 25 this year, the High Court declared Tarique and Zubaida as "fugitives" and rejected their writ petitions challenging the filing and initiation of a Tk 4.82 crore graft case. The two have been living in London since 2008.

The HC also withdrew the stay order on the case filed during the caretaker government in 2007 and directed the lower court concerned to complete the trial proceedings as early as possible.

The Chief Metropolitan Magistrate of Dhaka was asked to send the case record to the Dhaka Senior Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court within 10 days of receiving the order for holding its trial.

Trial proceedings against Tarique's mother-in-law Syeda Iqbal Mand Banu were quashed.

On September 26, 2007, the anti-graft body filed the case with Kafrul Police Station against Tarique, his wife Zubaida and her mother Syeda Iqbal Mand Banu for amassing assets worth Tk 4.82 crore through illegal means and concealing information of Tk 2.16 crore in their wealth statements.

The investigation officer of the case pressed charges against the three at the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court, Dhaka, on March 31, 2009.