Khaleda’s bail extended till March 13

A Dhaka special court today extended the bail of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia until March 13 in Zia Charitable Trust graft case.

Judge MD Akhteruzzaman of the Special Judge Court-5 passed the order after Khaleda's lawyer Abdur Rezak Khan submitted a petition seeking extension of her bail in the graft case.

Yesterday, the same court extended Khaleda's bail until today in the Zia Charitable Trust graft case.

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Khaleda kept in wait

The Anti-Corruption Commission filed the Zia Charitable corruption case with Tejgaon Police Station in August 2011, accusing Khaleda and three others of abusing power to raise funds for the trust from unknown sources.

The three other accused are: Harris Chowdhury, political secretary of the then PM Khaleda between 2001 and 2006; Ziaul Islam Munna, assistant private secretary (APS) to Harris; and Monirul Islam Khan, APS of former Dhaka city mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka.

On February 8, the same special court awarded Khaleda five years' rigorous imprisonment in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case and sentenced her elder son Tarique Rahman, now acting BNP chairman, and four others to 10 years' rigorous imprisonment each.

The court also fined them a total of Tk 2.10 crore, saying all the six convicts have to pay the fine in equal amounts.

The ACC filed the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case with Ramna Police Station in July 2008, accusing the six of misappropriating over Tk 2.1 crore that came from a foreign bank as grants for orphans.