Court Correspondent :A Dhaka court on Monday adjourned hearing in the Zia Orphanage Trust and Zia Charitable Trust graft cases filed against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and others till October 13.After a brief hearing in absence of Khaleda Zia, Judge Basudeb Roy of Dhaka’s Special Judge Court-3, passed the order, rejecting six petitions filed by the defense lawyers seeking adjournment of the hearing in the two cases.BNP Chief Khaleda Zia’s lawyers filed two petitions, seeking adjournment of both cases due to shutdown (hartal) and the lawyers’ court boycott programme across the country on the day. The court rejected a no-confidence petition filed by Khaleda Zia’s lawyer. The court also rejected a time petition, filed by the BNP Chief that sought adjournment of recording the depositions in the two cases. However, the court granted a petition of Khaleda Zia’s lawyer seeking her relief from the personal appearance in the court in the two cases.There was uproar when the court decided to record the depositions of the witnesses. On the occasion, ACC Public Prosecutor Mosharraf Hossain Kajal pleaded the court to start hearing showing Khaleda, a fugitive. The court recorded the partial statement of first witness and also the complainant of the cases, Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) Deputy Director Harun-or-Rashid for 10 minutes from 12.30 pm. Later, Khaleda Zia’s lawyer Sanaullah Mia told newsmen that his client could not come to the court due to want of security following the shutdown, sponsored by the 20-party alliance and the court boycott programme of Bangladesh Bar Council. On March 19, the judge framed charge against Khaleda Zia, her son and BNP Senior Vice-Chairman Tarique Rahman, and six others rejecting their time petitions in the Zia Orphanage Trust and Zia Charitable Trust graft cases. On August 8, 2011, the ACC filed the Zia Charitable Trust graft case with Tejgaon Police Station accusing four people, including Khaleda Zia, of abusing power in raising funds for the trust from unknown sources. The Investigation Officer (IO) of the case, ACC Deputy Director Harun-or- Rashid, submitted the charge sheets of the cases against the accused people on January 16, 2012. The ACC filed the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case on July 3, 2008 with Ramna Police Station accusing Khaleda Zia, her eldest son Tarique Rahman, now living in the UK, and four others for embezzlement of over Tk 2.10 crore, which came as grants for orphans from a foreign bank. On August 5, 2010, ACC Deputy Director Harun-or-Rashid and also the IO of the case submitted the charge sheet to the court in the case against six people, including BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia.
