Shawdesh Desk:

A Dhaka court on Monday set February 16 to hold a hearing on charge framing in Niko graft case against BNP chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia and others.

Judge Sheikh Hafizur Rahman of Dhaka 9th special judge court passed the order this morning at the newly built courtroom in front of Keraniganj Central Jail.

Today was fixed for holding hearing on charge framing in the case, but prime accused Begum Khaleda Zia failed to appear before the court on health ground and made her lawyers to plead for time.

Allowing the defence plea, the court then adjourned the hearing till February 16.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed the case against five including Begum Khaleda Zia with Tejgaon police station on December 9 in 2007, for abusing power in signing a deal with Canadian company Niko for exploring and extracting gas.

The ACC on May 5 in 2008, submitted the charge-sheet against 11 including Khaleda Zia.

The other accused in the case are BNP standing committee member Barrister Moudud Ahmed, former state minister for energy AKM Mosharraf Hossain, then principal secretary to the prime minister Kamal Uddin Siddiqui, former acting secretary at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Khandaker Shahidul Islam, former senior assistant secretary CM Yusuf Hossain, Former Bapex general manager Mir Moinul Haque, former Bapex secretary Mohammad Shafiur Rahman, businessman Gias Uddin Al Mamun, former Bagerhat MP MAH Selim and Niko’s vice president for South Asia Kashem Sharif.

The ACC accused them of incurring a loss of more than Taka 13 thousand crore of state exchequer by that deal.