Court Correspondent :A Special Judge Court of Dhaka on Wednesday framed charges against BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia and others in the Zia Charitable Trust and Zia Orphanage Trust graft cases. The judge also fixed April 21 for starting the trial with recording the depositions of the witnesses of the case.Earlier, Judge Basudev Roy of Special Judge Court-3 left his courtroom twice due to Khaleda Zia’s lawyers’ furious protest following rejection of their pleas, seeking more time before the charge hearing.Khaleda Zia entered the courtroom at 12.55 pm with hundreds of her lawyers. She went there for the hearing on framing charges against her and others in Zia Charitable Trust and Zia Orphanage Trust graft cases.Her lawyers involved in heated arguments with pro-Awami League lawyers present in the courtroom. Her lawyers submitted a time petition as the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court is yet to give any decision against the High Court order that rejected the appeal of the defence that two cases cannot run together.On January 15 last year, Khaleda Zia appeared before the court in the two cases. On January 16, a court fixed Wednesday for hearing on the charge framing against Khaleda Zia and others in the two cases.The charge framing in the two cases has been adjourned for 50 times in two years. On August 8, 2011, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed the Zia Charitable Trust graft case with Tejgaon Police Station against four including Khaleda Zia. She was accused of abusing power in raising funds for the trust from unknown sources. They have been accused of pocketing Tk 31.5 million from the Zia Charitable Trust. ACC Deputy Director Harunur Rashid and also the investigation officer (IO) of the case submitted the charge sheet in the case on January 16, 2012.Three other accused of the cases are Khaleda Zia’s former political secretary Harris Chowdhury, his former assistant personal secretary Ziaul Islam Munna and former personal secretary of the ex-mayor of undivided Dhaka City Corporation, Manirul Islam Khan. Of the accused persons, Harris left the country in 2007 and he has been staying abroad since then. He has been mentioned as a fugitive in the charge sheet. Ziaul Islam Munna and Manirul Islam Khan are on bail.The ACC filed the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case on July 3, 2008 with Ramna Police Station of the capital accusing Khaleda Zia, her eldest son Tarique Rahman, now living in the United Kingdom, and four others on the charge of embezzling over Tk 2.10 crore which was received as grants from a foreign bank for the orphans. Tarique, relinquishing his party portfolio, as senior joint-secretary, left for UK on September 11, 2008 for medical treatment after obtaining bail from the higher court.On August 5 in 2010, ACC Deputy Director Harunur Rashid submitted the charge sheet of the case against six people including BNP Chief Khaleda Zia to the court.The other accused persons of the case are: Mominur Rahman, nephew of late President Ziaur Rahman, Khaleda Zia’s former Principal Secretary Dr Kamaluddin Siddique, and former BNP lawmaker Kazi Salimul Haque and late businessman Sharfuddin Ahmed.
