Khaleda has no confidence in judge

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia yesterday expressed no-confidence in the judge of the trial court which is dealing with the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case.

Earlier in the day, the judge dismissed a petition Khaleda submitted on January 30 to seek further investigation into the case. According to the petition, the previous investigation was faulty.

Tap here to add The Daily Star as a trusted source

Judge Abu Ahmed Jamadar of the Special Judge Court-3 of Dhaka set February 9 for the placement of Khaleda's self-defence statements in the Zia Orphanage and Zia Charitable Trust graft cases.

The BNP chief appeared before the makeshift court at Bakshibazar in the capital around 11:25am yesterday.

Later, her lawyer Abdur Rezak Khan appealed to the court to dispose of the petition that had sought further investigation into the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case.

But the court turned down the plea and started reading out the charges brought against her by 32 prosecution witnesses. Following the order, Khaleda's lawyers submitted no-confidence petition and sought adjournment of the hearing.

The judge also asked Khaleda whether she was innocent.

In reply, she expressed no-confidence in the judge, saying that she would place her self-defence statements in the next scheduled date.         

On July 3, 2008, the Anti-Corruption Commission filed the case with Ramna Police Station against Khaleda, her son Tarique Rahman and four others on charges of misappropriating over Tk 2.10 crore that was received as grants for orphans via a foreign bank.

Of the accused, Khaleda, former BNP lawmaker Salimul Haq Kamal and businessman Sharfuddin Ahmed are on bail while the others, including Tarique, are absconding.