Court Correspondent :
Two courts in Dhaka on Thursday fixed July 5 to pass orders on the bail petitions of BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia in two cases- one filed for celebrating ‘fake’ birthday and another for undermining the country’s map, the national flag and the Liberation War.
Magistrate Md Khurshid Alam set the date in the case filed for celebrating ‘fake’ birthday, while Magistrate Md Ahsan Habib, both of the Chief Metropolitan Magistrates’ make-shift courts set up in the old Dhaka, fixed the same date in another case after hearing separate bail petitions filed by Khaleda Zia’s lawyer Sanaullah Miah.
On November 17, 2016, a court here issued a warrant for the arrest of the BNP Chief in a case filed against her for celebrating ‘fake’ birthday on the National Mourning Day on August 15.
On August 30, 2016, former Joint General Secretary of Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ) Gazi Zahirul Islam filed the case with the CMM Court accusing Khaleda Zia of provoking people, celebrating her ‘fake’ birthday on August 15. The case was filed under Sections 198 and 469 of the Code of Criminal Procedures (CrPC).
Zahirul Islam said in his complaint that Khaleda Zia’s date of birth was mentioned as August 15, 1946 in her latest passport while August 9, 1944 in her marriage registration certificate and September 5, 1946, in her Matriculation mark sheet. She has a total of five dates of birth.
On November 3, 2016, President of Jananetri Parishad, a pro-Awami League organisation, AB Siddique, filed the other case with a court accusing Khaleda Zia of undermining the country’s map, the national flag and the Liberation War of 1971.
