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Extortion case against Hasina withdrawn

Court Correspondent
The Tk 2.99 crore extortion case filed by businessman Azam J Chowdhury against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was yesterday withdrawn.
Judge (in charge) Mohammad MozammeI Hossain of the Special Court-5 allowed the case to be withdrawn after Metropolitan Public Prosecutor (MPP) Abdullah Abu on May 14 submitted an application along with the government's
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decision to withdraw the case.
Hasina along with the two other accused in the case--Hasina's sister Sheikh Rehana and their cousin Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim-were acquitted as well.
In his order, the judge said businessman Azam J Chowdhury, managing director of East Coast Trading Ltd, submitted a petition before the head of the caretaker government on December 14 last year to withdraw his case. In his petition, he said he was compelled to file the case against Hasina and others and wishes no longer to continue with the case proceedings.
On January 28 this year, the government sent a letter to the MPP asking him to take initiatives to withdraw the case. The MPP could not take any steps as the proceedings of the case were stayed by a High Court (HC) order.
Hisina's lawyers appealed to the HC to vacate the stay order so that the case could be withdrawn.
The HC then vacated its stayorder.
After hearing both the sides on the MPP's petition to wither aw " IHe *c a s et fi eu c our t granted withdrawal of the case yesterday.
MPP Abdullah Abu also recommended withdrawal of 11 other cases filed against the prime minister as those cases were filed to "tarnish the image of the Awami League chief and her previous government".
The cases include those filed by the last BNP-led government for alleged graft in the purchase of MiG 29s for the air force and a frigate for the navy, and in the construc-tion of Bangabandhu Planetarium (now Bhashani Novo Theatre) and for "illegal entry” in Dhaka Cantonment area to visit writer author Humayun Azad at the CMH.
Azam had filed the case against Hasina and her cousin Sheikh Selim with Gulshan Police Station on June 13", 2007, in connection with extorting Tk 2.99 crore from him in exchange for awarding a contract to set up a power plant inSiddhirganj.