A Dhaka Court has fixed November 27 for the next hearing on charge framing in the Barapukuria coal mine graft case against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia.

Dhaka’s Special Judge Court-2 Judge Abu Taher set the new date on Wednesday (Nov 20).

According to court sources, the hearing on the charge framing was scheduled for today, but it could not be completed as Khaleda Zia’s and former minister Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain’s lawyers sought discharge from the charges.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed the case with Shahbagh Police Station on February 26, 2008, accusing the defendants of irregularities in appointing a contractor for coal extraction, management, and maintenance at Barapukuria coal mine, causing a loss of Tk 158.71 crore to the state.

On October 5, 2008, the ACC submitted a chargesheet against 16 individuals.

The case proceedings were stayed for nine years following a High Court order, which was lifted on May 28, 2017. Since then, the case has been awaiting a charge framing hearing.

Several accused, including former ministers M Saifur Rahman, Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, MK Anwar, M Shamsul Islam, Barrister Aminul Haque, and former state minister for energy AKM Mosharraf Hossain, have passed away. Jamaat leaders Motiur Rahman Nizami and Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed were executed for war crimes.

Apart from Khaleda Zia, the remaining accused are former ministers Dr. Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain and Altaf Hossain Chowdhury, former energy secretary Nazrul Islam, ex-Petrobangla chairman SR Osmani, former director Moinul Ahsan, former managing director of Barapukuria Coal Mining Company Md Sirajul Islam, and Hossaf Group chairman Moazzem Hossain.

BDST: 1505 HRS, NOV 20, 2024
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