Court Correspondent :
A Dhaka court has set January 7 as the date for the hearing of the Niko graft case against BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia and 10 others.
Judge Sheikh Hafizur Rahman of the 9th Special Judge Court of Dhaka passed the order on Monday at the newly-built courtroom in front of the Keraniganj Central Jail.
The hearing was scheduled to be held on December 2, but jail authorities could not produce Begum
Khaleda Zia in the court as she is currently undergoing treatment at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU).
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed the case with Tejgaon Model Police Station on December 9, 2007, for abusing power in signing a deal with Canadian company Niko for exploring and extracting gas when Begum Khaleda Zia was the Prime Minister between 2001 and 2006.
The ACC on May 5, 2008, submitted the charge sheet of the case against 11 persons including the BNP Chairperson.
Apart from Khaleda Zia, former Law Minister Barrister Moudud Ahmed, former secretaries Md Shafiur Rahman, Khondker Shahidul Islam, CM Yusuf Hossain and former President of Dhaka Club Selim Bhuiyan are among the accused in the case. However, Shafiur Rahman died on May 5, last year, for which the number of accused came down to 10.
Other three accused are: former secretary Kamal Uddin Siddiqui, former General Manager of Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Limited (BAPEX) Meer Moinul Haque and Niko South Asia Affairs Vice President Kashem Sharif, who are on the run.
A Dhaka court has set January 7 as the date for the hearing of the Niko graft case against BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia and 10 others.
Judge Sheikh Hafizur Rahman of the 9th Special Judge Court of Dhaka passed the order on Monday at the newly-built courtroom in front of the Keraniganj Central Jail.
The hearing was scheduled to be held on December 2, but jail authorities could not produce Begum
Khaleda Zia in the court as she is currently undergoing treatment at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU).
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed the case with Tejgaon Model Police Station on December 9, 2007, for abusing power in signing a deal with Canadian company Niko for exploring and extracting gas when Begum Khaleda Zia was the Prime Minister between 2001 and 2006.
The ACC on May 5, 2008, submitted the charge sheet of the case against 11 persons including the BNP Chairperson.
Apart from Khaleda Zia, former Law Minister Barrister Moudud Ahmed, former secretaries Md Shafiur Rahman, Khondker Shahidul Islam, CM Yusuf Hossain and former President of Dhaka Club Selim Bhuiyan are among the accused in the case. However, Shafiur Rahman died on May 5, last year, for which the number of accused came down to 10.
Other three accused are: former secretary Kamal Uddin Siddiqui, former General Manager of Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Limited (BAPEX) Meer Moinul Haque and Niko South Asia Affairs Vice President Kashem Sharif, who are on the run.
