Khaleda seeks extension of bail in Zia orphanage case

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia filed a petition with the High Court seeking extension of its earlier order that granted four-month bail to her in Zia Orphanage Trust Corruption Case in which she was sentenced to five-year imprisonment.

The HC bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Md Mostafizur Rahman today fixed Sunday for hearing the petition submitted by her lawyer on Wednesday.

The HC on March 12 this year granted four-month bail to Khaleda in this case.

The Appellate Division on May 16 upheld the HC’s bail order, which will expire on July 12.

On February 8, Special Judge's Court-5 of Dhaka sentenced Khaleda to five years' rigorous imprisonment in the graft case.

The court also sentenced Khaleda's elder son Tarique Rahman, now the acting chairman of BNP, and four others to 10 years' rigorous imprisonment each, and fined them a total of Tk 2.10 crore, saying that all the six convicts have to pay the fine in equal amounts.

The Anti-Corruption Commission had filed the 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.