A Dhaka court on Wednesday discharged BNP Chairperson and former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia, along with former ministers Air Vice Marshal (retd) Altaf Hossain Chowdhury and Dr. Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, from the Barapukuria coal mine graft case.
Judge Md Abu Taher of Dhaka Special Judge Court-3 issued the order, granting separate discharge petitions filed on behalf of the three accused.
The court, however, proceeded to frame charges against four other accused—Moajjem Hossain, Nazrul Islam, Moinul Ahsan, and Md Sirajul Islam Chowdhury—thereby officially commencing their trial.
The case initially listed 13 accused. Among them, Matiur Rahman Nizami and Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed were executed after being convicted of crimes against humanity, while Barrister Aminul Huq, MK Anwar, M. Shamsul Islam, and AKM Mosharraf Hossain passed away from natural causes, leading to their names being dropped from the charges.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed the case on February 26, 2008, accusing Khaleda Zia and 15 others of causing a loss of approximately Tk 159 crore to the state by abusing power to award a contract for the Barapukuria coal mine's operation to a Chinese company. The charge sheet was submitted by ACC Deputy Director Md Abul Kashem Fokir on October 5, 2008.
With today's ruling, the trial will proceed against the remaining accused, focusing on the allegations of corruption and abuse of power.
