Charge hearing in 2 cases against Khaleda Zia deferred to Mar 5

Court Correspondent :
The Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Court of Dhaka yesterday fixed March 5 for hearing on charge framing in two cases, one for allegedly observing fake birthday on National Mourning Day and another for stigmatizing the War of Liberation, lodged against BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia.

Wednesday was earlier fixed, for indictment hearings in the two cases, but Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sultan Sohagh Uddin of Dhaka CMM Court reset the date, allowing a time plea of Khaleda Zia’s counsel Advocate Masud Ahmed Talukder.

Journalist Gazi Jahirul Islam filed the fake birthday case against Khaleda Zia on August 30 of 2016.

According to the complainant, Khaleda Zia from 1996 was celebrating her fake birthday on August 15, the day when Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was martyred along with most of his family members were brutally assassinated. She is doing this on purpose only to dishonour the Father of the Nation.

The complainant also submitted copies of different newspaper reports on Khaleda’ Zia’s birthday, copies of her passport, marriage certificate and mark sheets, which indicates August 15 is not her birthday in anyway.

Jananetri Parishad President AB Siddiqui filed the other case on November 3, 2016, against Khaleda Zia and her late husband Ziaur Rahman for stigmatizing the War of Liberation by rehabilitating anti-Liberation War elements.

The BNP Chief is on bail in both the cases as Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge KM Imrul Qayesh granted her bail on July 31, 2018.