By Mizan Rahman
A Dhaka court yesterday framed charges against Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s highest decision-making standing committee member Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain in a defamation case.
Passing the order in the presence of the senior BNP leader, Metropolitan Magistrate Ataul Haque fixed January 22 for the formal trial to begin with the deposition of witnesses.
A B Siddique, president of Bangladesh Jananetri Parishad, a pro-Awami League organisation, filed the defamation case with the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court of Dhaka on January 20, 2013.
According to the case statement, at a programme on December 31, 2012, Mosharraf had said the government is trying to cling to power through conspiracy and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will have to “face the fate of 1975 if the government tries to stay in power by force.”
Siddique said Mosharraf’s statement, published in different newspapers on the following day, tarnished the image of the prime minister.
Mosharraf, one of the BNP’s skilled organisers, also faces a money laundering case.
Earlier, a High Court (HC) bench refused to grant bail to the detained BNP leader in a money laundering case.
Justice Borhanuddin and Justice Kamrul Kader retuned the bail petition of Mosharraf to his lawyer Moudud Ahmed saying that it will not grant bail to him as there is specific allegation of money laundering in the case.
It will be examined in the investigation and trial proceedings whether the allegation is true or false, the court said.
Moudud Ahmed told newsmen that he took back the petition after the bench
returned it.
“We will now move the bail petition before another High Court bench,” he said.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on February 6 sued the former health minister for laundering over 95.3mn taka to the United Kingdom.
ACC director Nasim Anwar filed the case with Ramna police station stating that the BNP leader amassed the amount between 2001 and 2006 and deposited that with a bank account in the UK.
The bench, however, said the petition can be moved before any other bench of the HC.
Earlier on February 10 another HC bench granted anticipatory bail to Mosharraf for six weeks after hearing a petition filed by him seeking bail in the case.
In response to a stay petition filed by the ACC, the Supreme Court on February 24 cancelled the HC order of bail to him in this case.
