Khaleda Zia bail: Decisions in three cases on Monday

Khaleda Zia bail: Decisions in three
cases on Monday

The High Court will decide on the bail of BNP
Chairperson Khaleda Zia in two Cumilla cases
and one Norail case on Monday.
The court concluded the bail hearing in the
murder case over the fire bombing of a bus in
Cumilla’s Chauddagram last Thursday.
Justice AKM Asaduzzaman and Justice JBM
Hassan presided over the bail hearings for the
Cumilla Anti-Terror case and the Norail
defamation case on Sunday.
The lawyers say that bail in all three cases
will be announced on Monday.
Though she received a four-month bail in the
case, she has not been released due to
several other pending cases.
Her bail petitions in two other cases are also
before the High Court, but hearings in those
two cases have yet to be held.
The two cases filed in Cumilla include a
murder case involving the bombing of a bus
and a case over the illegal use of explosive
substances. The Norail case charges her with
defamation.
Eight people were killed after a night coach
was petrol bombed in Chauddagram on Feb 3,
2015 during the BNP-Jamaat alliance’s
protests. Two separate cases – one for
murder, the other under the Explosives Act –
were filed over the incident.
A warrant was issued for Khaleda’s arrest
after police filed the charge sheet in the two
cases. The state then filed to have her shown
arrested over the graft case in Dhaka.
The Cumilla Chief Judicial Magistrate’s court
then ordered Khaleda Zia to be brought for a
hearing on Mar 26. The BNP chief has yet to
be brought to court due to her illness.
Khaleda’s lawyers then moved the Cumilla
District and Sessions Judge’s court for her bail
in the two cases on Apr 23. The hearing has
been set for Jun 7. Khaleda’s lawyers then
requested the date be brought forward, but
the proposal was rejected.
Khaleda’s lawyer Masud Rana said that they
have challenged the decision at the High
Court and have filed for bail there.
The Norail case accuses the BNP chief of
making ‘adverse comments’ regarding the
Liberation War death count. The case was
filed by Norail district administration Ward-1
member and Noragati Awami League Joint
General Raihan Farooki on Dec 24, 2015.
The court issued an arrest warrant against
Khaleda Zia in the case in August 2016 after
she failed to attend hearings.
Her lawyers filed for bail in the case, but it
was dismissed by the trial court. The decision
was challenged at the High Court, said Masud
Rana.
The BNP chairperson petitioned for bail in the
Cumilla and Norail cases on May 20.
by: bdnews 24