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Power Plant Graft Charge

Hasina indicted, trial starts May 21

Staff Correspondent
A special court yesterday framed charges indicting detained former premier Sheikh Hasina and seven others in theTk3 crore graft case in connection with setting up 100MW barge-mounted power plant in Khulna.
Judge Firoz Alam of the Special Court-1 set up on Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban premises also fixed May 21 for starting deposition of witnesses in the case.
Rejecting the petition filed by Awami League (AL) chief Sheikh Hasina for discharging proceedings of this case against them, the court passed the order yesterday morning.
Lawyers said if the charges against Hasina were proved, she might be handed down maximum
12 years' imprisonment and be disqualified from taking part in elections.
Hasina told the court she was not at all involved in any sort of corruption and the charges brought against her were false, baseless and fabricated.
"I am completely innocent I have never committed any corruption or nepotism. What I have done was for the public interest. The case was filed against me from political motive in order to harass me so that I cannot take part in the elections," she said.
Questioning neutrality of the judge of the court, she said if the court was really independent, the court would have exempted her from the charges.
The Prime Mister's Office
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approved the proposal for setting up the barge-mounted power plant after it was scrutinised by different committees of her government.
' Everything of this project was done very transparently. The concerned minister was not charged in this case. But I was made an accused," she said.
Hasina also said at the beginning of the AL government led by her in 1996, the country's total electricity production was only 1.600MW and at the end in 2001 the total production rose to 4.300MW
"After my government, the subsequent governments could not add a single megawatt of electricity to the national grid. If the* Awami League government could continue, electricity production would be 7.000MW now and there would be no deficit of electricity," she said.
Hasina said she is the daughter of Bangabandhu who was elected prime minister and president of the country, but her family members had not piled property by abusing power.
At a stage the judge told Hasina this court thinks her (Hasina] innocent and the prosecution will have to prove the charges during trial.
Hasina however told the judge the court is not independent and neutral.
"If you were independent and neutral, you would have really thought me innocent and exonerated me from the charges. But
there is pressure on you. You cannot deliver justice," shesaid.
Prosecution lawyer advocate Sharfuddin Ahmed Khan Mukul told newspersons if the charges against Hasina were proved, she would be sentenced to maximum 12 years’ imprisonment and be disqualified from contesting the polls.
"The people made Sheikh Hasina prime minister of the country for serving them. But she had committed corruption while she was in state power. We have proved that Sheikh Hasina and the other accused tookTk 3 crore in the name of setting up the bargemounted power plant and the court examining the documents, materials and evidence framed charges against all the accused," he said.
He said the court is functioning independently.
Defence lawyer Barrister Shafique Ahmed said they have filed petitions with the court for discharging the charges against the accused as there was no evidence, materials or documents of taking bribe by them in the First Information Report (FIR) and charge sheet.
"The court rejected the petitions and we have become surprised at the court order," he added.
Hasina and another accused Dr Toufiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury were produced before the court amid tight security at 9:50am yesterday. The court started proceedings of the case reading out the charges against the accused.
ACC Deputy Director Sabbir Hasan filed the case with Tejgaon Police Station on September 2. The case said Hasina and the six others, through their mutual understanding and using their influence, helped a foreign company and its local partners win a deal for setting up the 100MW bargemounted power plant and thus deprived the lowest bidder.
The case was filed under Sections 161, 163, 164, 165, 165 (a) /109 of the Penal Code and 5 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947. Later, ACC brought the case under Emergency Power Rules. If the charges are proved, the accused face sentences ranging from life term to one-year imprisonment.
Investigation officer ACC Deputy Director Morshed Alam submitted the charge sheet to the Court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Dhaka on January 10.
In addition to the seven accused in the FIR earlier, the name of Bangabandhu Memorial Trust (BMT) curator Sayed Siddiqur Rahman was also included in the charge sheet.
The other accused are former energy secretary Dr Toufiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, former Power Development Board chairman Noor Uddin Mahmud Kamal, Managing Director of Summit Industries and Mercantile Corporation Private Ltd Aziz Khan and Director Farid Khan, United Group Chairman Hasan Mahmud Raja and Director Abul Kal am Azad.