The summons pasted on the entrance to Khaleda Zia's residence.

The summons on BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia in a sedition case was pasted on the entrance to her Gulshan residence yesterday, as staff of the house refused to receive the court order. 

Court officials waited for around five hours from 12:00noon for handing the summons to any staff member at Khaleda's residence, but they failed, Masud Khan, an official of the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's (CMM) Court, told The Daily Star.

Zabid Hossain Bachchu, a process server of the CMM Court, stuck the summons on the entrance wall around 5:00pm. 

According to the law, Masud added, hanging any summons in such a way means it has been served on the accused. “And it will mean that Khaleda Zia has got the summons.”

Contacted, staff at the BNP chief's office declined to comment in this regard.

Despite several tries, this correspondent could not reach Khaleda's special aide Shamsur Rahman Shimul Biswas over the phone.

The summons signed by Metropolitan Magistrate Rashed Talukder asks Khaleda to appear before the CMM court on March 3, Masud added.

A Supreme Court lawyer on Monday filed the sedition case with the court, appealing to it to issue an arrest warrant for Khaleda for her remarks about the number of martyrs during the 1971 Liberation War.

Taking cognizance of the charge, the court asked Khaleda to appear before it on March 3.

In the case statement, the lawyer alleged that Khaleda at a programme on December 21 last year said, “There are controversies over exactly how many were martyred in the Liberation War. There are also many books and documents on the controversies.”

BNP'S REACTION

The BNP yesterday said the sedition case against Khaleda is part of the government's “dangerous plot” to destroy the opposition and re-establish a one-party rule, having failed to politically face her.

“Sedition charge was brought against the BNP chairperson [Khaleda] by distorting a small part of her comment on the number of 1971 Liberation War martyrs, though there is no seditious element,” claimed BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.

At a press briefing in the party's Nayapaltan central office, he was giving the party's formal reaction to the filing of the case.

Fakhrul demanded that the government immediately withdraw the “false” treason charge against Khaleda and release all the opposition leaders and activists after withdrawing “false cases” against them.

“Through filing the sedition case against the BNP chairperson, Awami League has proved that it fears our leader. Having failed to face her politically, it is filing false cases to harass her and keep her away from politics. We strongly protest and condemn the filing of this false case.

“We want to unequivocally say this case was filed with a heinous motive to make narrow political gains. As the ruling party has become politically bankrupt, it has been indulging in a dangerous conspiracy to completely eliminate the opposition and re-establish a one-party rule in Bangladesh," he said.