A court on Tuesday fixed March 18 for the next hearing in the Niko graft case, in which charges are being framed against BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia and 11 others.
Dhaka Special Judge Court-9 Judge Sheikh Hafijur Rahman fixed the date after accepting a time petition filed by Khaleda’s lawyer.
Advocate Masud Ahmed Talukdar, who stood for Khaleda, said the court has accepted their application to appear before the court during the hearings on behalf of Khaleda Zia.
“From now Khaleda Zia won’t have to appear before the court in the case,” he said.
On December 9, 2007, at the mid-point of the 2-year interregnum known as '1/11' to Bangladeshis, the ACC filed the case accusing Khaleda and four others of causing a loss of Tk 137.77 billion to the state by signing an oil and gas exploration deal with Canadian company Niko on behalf of the state that was deemed to not place Bangladesh's national interest above all other considerations, and swayed by graft.
The anti-graft body pressed charges in court against 11 people, including Khaleda, in May 2008,
The other accused in the case are BNP Standing Committee Member Moudud Ahmed, former state minister AKM Mosharraf Hossain, former principal secretary Kamal Uddin Siddique, Khandaker Shahidul Islam, CM Yusuf Hossain, former Bapex general manager Mir Mainul Haq, its former secretary Shafiur Rahman, Giasuddin Al Mamun, former parliamentarian MAH Selim and former vice-president of South-Asia affairs Niko Kashem Sharif.
