A Dhaka court on Wednesday issued arrest warrants against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and two others for skipping court hearing in the two graft cases involving Tk. 50 million.
The Dhaka’s Third Metropolitan Special Judges Court, which is hearing the Zia Orphanage Trust and Zia Charitable Trust graft cases, issued the warrant scrapping her bail as she failed to appear in a hearing on Wednesday. The day’s hearing was fixed on Jan 29, when Ms. Khaleda pleaded for more time, as she was mourning the death of her youngest son.
On an earlier date when she did not appear, Ms. Khaleda’s lawyers told the court that she was being ‘prevented’ from leaving her office by police. The court had then exempted the former Prime Minister from attending the hearing and ordered the recording of plaintiff testimonies in her absence.
Ms. Khaleda, who has been living at her Gulshan political office since Jan 3, announced an indefinite movement on January 5. The prolonged agitation saw the killing of more than 100 people, mostly in petrol bomb attacks on vehicles. Ms. Khaleda, who heads a 20 party alliance led by her BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami, has been living at the office despite the withdrawal of the police.
