Court starts reading out Zia Charitable Trust graft verdict
A Dhaka court on Monday morning started reading out its verdict in Zia Charitable Trust corruption case filed against former prime minister and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairperson Khaleda Zia and three others, reports UNB.
Judge Md Akhtaruzzaman of the Special Court-5 started to read out the verdict 11:25am.
Law enforcement agencies have taken all necessary preparations to tackle any possible chaos centering the verdict.
Earlier on 16 October, judge Md Akhtaruzzaman fixed the date for delivering the verdict.
The three other accused in the case are Harris Chowdhury, political secretary of the then prime minister Khaleda between 2001 and 2006; Ziaul Islam Munna, assistant private secretary to Harris; and Monirul Islam Khan, assistant private secretary to former Dhaka city mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka.
The BNP chairperson is now undergoing treatment at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) under a special medical board formed by the government.
She has been serving five years' rigorous imprisonment at Old Central Jail, as she was convicted in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case on 8 February last.
On 8 August 2011, the ACC filed the Zia Charitable Trust graft case with Tejgaon police station accusing four people, including Khaleda Zia, of abusing power in raising funds for the trust from unknown sources.
