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Niko Graft Case

Khaleda, five others have to appear in court May 20

Court Correspondent
A Dhaka court yesterday directed the jail authorities to turn in detained former prime minister Khaleda Zia and five other people to court on May 20 in connection with Niko graft case.
This is the first time the court has asked the authorities to produce the BNP chairperson before it. She and 10 other people are accused of abuse of power and graft in awarding a gas exploration and extraction deal to Canadian company Niko.
Meantime, two more accused in the case were sent to jail yesterday after they surrendered to the court, seeking bail. They are Meer Moynul Haque, former senior general manager of Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration Company (Bapex), and Shafiur Rahman, former secretary ofBapex.
The court also directed the authorities concerned to publish an advertisement in two national Bangla dailies, asking the remaining three fugitives in the case to appear before it by May 20.
Moving the bail petitions for Meer Moynul Haque and Shafiur Rahman, defence lawyers said out of respect for law, their clients turned themselves in to coun after coming to know about the case just a few days ago.
The prosecution, however, opposed the bail bid and prayed for sending the two accused to jail.
Hearing both sides. Judge Mohammad Azizul Haque of the
Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court set May 20 as new date for hearing, ordered the authorities to send Moynul and Shafiur to jail and asked for publishing the advertisement
Kamal Uddin Siddique, former principal secretary to prime minister, CM Yousuf Hossain, former senior assistant secretary of Energy and Mineral Resources Department, and vice president (South Asia) of Niko Resources Bangladesh Ltd Kashem Sharif, are still in hiding.
On December 9 last year, die Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed die case with Tejgaon Police Starion against Khaleda Zia, former law minister Moudud Ahmed, former state minister for energy AKM Mosharraf Hossain, former acting energy secretary Khandaker Shahidul Islam and
Kashem Sharif.
Six more people were implicated in the charge sheet submitted to Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's (CMM) Court in Dhaka on May 5, raising the number of accused in the case to 11. The investigation officer showed 68 people as prosecution witnesses in the charge sheet.
According to the charge sheet, the accused struck an anti-state joint venture agreement with Niko, causing a loss of Tk 13,777 to the nation's coffers.
Moudud Ahmed, AKM Mosharraf Hossain, Khandaker Shahidul Islam, Giasuddin Al Mamun, managing director of One Group, and Selim Bhuiyan, chairman and managing director of International TYavel Corporation, are also in jail custody.