Khaleda gets bail in Zia trust graft cases

Khaleda Zia

Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia departs after a special court gave her bail in two graft cases in Dhaka on Thursday. — Indrajit Ghosh

Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia on Thursday obtained bail in Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Orphanage Trust and Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Charitable Trust graft cases after her surrender to the Dhaka Special Court-5.

The judge, Akhtaruzzaman, passed the order under a bail bond Tk 1 lakh for each case.

Earlier, the former prime minister arrived on the premises of the special court set up at the playground of Government Alia Madrassah in the capital’s Bakshibazar around 11:20am.

After her arrival, Khaleda surrendered before the court and sought bail in the cases in which arrest warrants were issued for her earlier.

Khaleda returned home from the UK on Wednesday afternoon after over a three-month stay there.

On July 3, 2008, the Anti-Corruption Commission filed the Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Orphanage Trust graft case with Ramna police station accusing Khaleda, her eldest son Tarique Rahman, now living in the UK, and four others for misappropriating over Tk 21. 0 million (2.10 crore) that came as grants from a foreign bank for orphans.

Besides, the ACC filed the Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Charitable Trust graft case on August 8, 2011, with Tejgaon police station accusing four people, including Khaleda, of abuse of power in raising funds for the trust from unknown sources.

Source: New Age