Staff Reporter :
The Anti-Corruption Commission [ACC] has taken initiative to speed up the graft case against Zubaida Rahman, wife of BNP Senior Vice-Chairman Tarique Rahman.
The ACC took the step after the High Court on April 2 permitted the anti-graft watchdog to contest its seven-year old rule on a graft case filed against Zubaida Rahman, now in London along with Tarique.
Sources said, the ACC is likely to submit prayer to HC to fix date for hearing on its rule about the stay order today (Sunday) or tomorrow (Monday).
“The ACC has already been enlisted as a party in the court. We will pray to the court by Sunday or Monday to set the date for hearing on the rule and stay order,” Md Khurshid Alam Khan, its legal adviser, said on Saturday.
On September 26, 2007, the ACC filed the case with Kafrul Police Station against Tarique, his wife Zubaida and mother-in-law Iqbal Mand Banu for amassing assets of about Tk 4.92 crore through illegal means and concealing information in their wealth statements.
Later, the HC in the same year issued a rule ordering to stay all legal procedures following a petition from Zubaida Rahman, a doctor.
Even, the Appellate Division also upheld the verdict of HC though the ACC had appealed against the order. The accused also did not make the ACC a party. In this situation, the ACC on Wednesday applied to HC to make it a party of the case.
After a hearing on Thursday, the HC bench comprising Justice Md Moinul Islam Chowdhury and Justice KBM Hassan cleared the way to proceed with the case.
According to the ACC charge sheet, Tarique accumulated wealth worth around Tk 2.75 crore beyond his known income sources and hid information about assets worth around Tk 2.17 crore in his statement.
Zubaida and her mother were accused of assisting Tarique to conceal the information.
“The ACC can now place arguments in Zubaida’s case. The case proceedings against Zubaida, Tarique and his mother-in-law had been halted following the 2008 HC order,” ACC lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan said.
