A Dhaka court has fixed August 11 to hold a hearing on charge framing in the Gatco graft case against BNP chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia and 14 others.
Judge Ali Hossain of the Dhaka Special Judge Court -3 on Wednesday passed the order, allowing a time plea of the defence as prime accused Begum Khaleda Zia failed to appear before the court on health ground, making her counsel to plead for time.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed the case against 13 people, including Khaleda and her younger son Arafat Rahman on September 2, 2007, with Tejgaon Police Station for their role in corruption regarding penning a contract with Global Agro Trade (Pvt) Co Ltd (Gatco) for container management at inland container depots in Dhaka and Chattogram.
The anti-graft body accused Khaleda Zia and others of causing a loss of Tk 14.56 crore to the state by awarding the job of container management at Dhaka ICD and Chattogram Port to Gatco.
A formal charge was submitted against 24 on May 13, 2008. But of the 24 accused, eight including Arafat and Saifur Rahman have died so far. Another accused Matiur Rahman Nizami has been hanged after getting convicted in a crime against humanity case. Their names have been dropped, leaving 15 accused to face the justice.
The 15 accused are- Begum Khaleda Zia, Dr Kandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, Commodore (retd) Zulfikar Ali, Jahanara Ansar, Ismail Hossain Saimon, AKM Musa Kazal, Ehsan Eusuf, Julfikar Haider Chowdhury, AK Rashid Uddin Ahmed, then Gatco director Shahjahan M Hasib, Syed Tanvir Ahmed, Syed Galib Ahmed, ASM Shahadat Hossain, and AM Sanowar Hossain.
