Court Correspondent :
The hearing on charge framing against BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia and others in the Niko graft case is scheduled to be held today (on Thursday). Judge Sheikh Hafizur Rahman of Dhaka ninth special judge court is set for holding the hearing.
Earlier, the court fixed March 18 to frame the charge at the newly built courtroom in front of Keraniganj Central Jail. However, the court then reset the date following the death of BNP leader Barrister Moudud Ahmed, one of the accused of the graft case, who died in Singapore hospital on March 16 at the age of 81.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed the case against five including Khaleda Zia with Tejgaon Model Police Station on December 9 in 2007, on the charge of abusing power in signing a deal with Canadian company Niko for exploring and extracting gas.
The ACC on May 5, 2008, submitted the charge-sheet against 11 including Khaleda Zia. They accused them of incurring a loss of more than Taka 13 thousand crores of the state exchequer by the deal with Niko.
The other accused in the case are just died BNP Standing Committee member Barrister Moudud Ahmed, then Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Kamal Uddin Siddiqui, former acting Secretary at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Khandaker Shahidul Islam, former Senior Assistant Secretary CM Yusuf Hossain, former Bapex General Manager Mir Moinul Haque, former Bapex Secretary Mohammad Shafiur Rahman, businessman Gias Uddin Al Mamun, former Bagerhat MP MAH Selim and Niko’s Vice-President for South Asia Kashem Sharif.
Khaleda is now in her house at Gulshan following an executive order of the government while BNP leaders Moudud Ahmed and three others were on bail. And three others have been absconding since the case was filed against them.
