by Md Sanaul Islam Tipu in Dhaka Tribune, Jan 3, 2018 at 11:57 PM
The Zia Orphanage Trust graft case was brought against Khaleda Zia using fake documents prepared by a corrupt investigation officer (IO), a lawyer for the BNP chairperson claimed on Wednesday.
During the sixth day of defence arguments on Wednesday, Advocate AJ Mohammad Ali alleged that the IO of the case, Harun-Ur-Rashid, prepared forged documents to sway the case in the prosecution’s favour.
He also said plaintiffs lied under oath while placing their testimonies before the court, in order to harass the BNP chief.
“The whole case is a fiction and unreal. She should be acquitted from all the charges,” AJ Mohammad Ali said.
The lawyer argued that the true case should be filed against those who built the graft case around forged documents.
Judge Md Akhtaruzzaman of the Dhaka Special Judges Court 5 adjourned the argument hearing for the sixth day and ordered the defence to place rest of its argument on Thursday.
Earlier in the day, Khaleda appeared before the makeshift court set up at the capital’s Bakshibazar area at around 11:30am amid tight security.
BNP leader Moudud Ahmed, also a member of the Khaleda’s defence panel, echoed AJ Mohammad Ali while talking to journalists after the adjournment of the court.
“The case should be filed against the witnesses of the case,” he said.
Abdur Rezak Khan and Khandaker Mahbub Hossain – the lead defence counsels in the case – have already concluded their arguments, which kicked off on December 20.
The prosecution concluded its argument on December 19, seeking life imprisonment for BNP chief Khaleda in the case.
On July 3, 2008, the Anti-Corruption Commission filed the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case with Ramna police station accusing Khaleda Zia, her eldest son Tarique Rahman, and four others of misappropriating over Tk2.10 crore that came as grants from a foreign bank for orphans.
On August 8, 2011, the commission filed the Zia Charitable Trust graft case with Tejgaon police station accusing four people, including Khaleda Zia, of abuse of power in raising funds for the trust from unknown sources. http://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/court/2018/01/03/defence-counsel-claims-io-forged-documents-nail-khaleda-graft-case/
Comments are closed.