ZIA ORPHANAGE TRUST CASE Prosecution seeks highest punishment for Khaleda, Tarique

The prosecution on Tuesday concluded its arguments seeking highest punishment prescribed in the law for all the six accused, including Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia and senior vice-chairman Tarique Rahman, in Zia Orphanage Trust graft case.
Public prosecutor Mosharraf Hossain Kajal placed his arguments before the Special Judge’s Court-5 set up at Bakshibazar in Dhaka.
After the conclusion of the prosecution arguments, the judge of the court, Md Akhteruzzaman, the court set today for placing defence arguments. 
Khaleda was present in the courtroom.
The public prosecutor began his arguments at about 11:00am and read out the case statement, investigation report and selected parts of the testimonies of the prosecution witnesses.
He also sought to discredit the statement placed by BNP chairperson in self-defence terming it confusing.
Mosharraf, quoting statement of the prosecution witnesses, argued that Khaleda, while in the office the prime minister in 1991-96, received a grant of $12.55 lakh (Tk 4.45 crore) through United Saudi Commercial Bank for orphans.
Though there were hundreds of established orphanages across the country, the money was not given to any of them and a new Zia Orphanage Trust was formed with Khaleda’s sons – Tarique and Arafat Rahman – and late president Ziaur Rahman’s nephew Mominur Rahman in a bid to misappropriate the money, the prosecutor argued.
He argued that the then prime minister Khaleda had given Tk 2.33 crore out of the grant for Zia Orphanage Trust to establish an orphanage in Bogra.
Of the amount, Tk 2.77 crore was withdrawn to buy 2.79 acres of land in Bogra and the rest remained unused as no orphanage was established in 13 years when the amount stood at Tk 3.37 crore with accrued interests, he said.
He argued that Tk 3.30 crore of the money was transferred to Prime Bank’s Gulshan branch for opening an FDR account in six checks by Tarique and Mominur.
The prosecutor argued that all the accused used different ways to launder the money, received as grant from abroad for orphans, without spending them for orphans.
The prosecution placed 32 witnesses to prove the charges.
Khaleda is scheduled for today to deliver her self-defence statement in Zia Charitable Trust graft case before the same court.
On December 5, after Khaleda’s deposition in self defence in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case, the court set December 19, 20 and 21 for the hearings in the two cases.
The Anti-Corruption Commission on July 3, 2008, filed the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case with Ramna police station accusing Khaleda, Tarique, former lawmaker Salimul Haque Kamal, businessman Sharfuddin Ahmed, former bureaucrat Kamal Uddin Siddiqui and BNP founder Ziaur Rahman’s nephew Mominur Rahman of embezzlement of over Taka 21 million brought from abroad for the orphans.
The anti-graft body also lodged Zia Charitable Trust graft case with Tejgaon police station on August 8, 2011 against Khaleda, Tarique, former Dhaka city mayor Sadek Hossain’s personal secretary Monirul Islam Khan, Khaleda’s former political secretary Haris Chowdhury and former BIWTA director Ziaul Islam Munna on charge of embezzling Tk 31.5 million from the trust.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net