Dhaka: A court here today discharged BNP Chairperson and former prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia, along with former ministers Air Vice Marshal (retd) Altaf Hossain Chowdhury and Dr Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, from the Barapukuria coal mine graft case. Judge Md Abu Taher of Dhaka Special Judge Court-3 granted the order, accepting the discharge petitions filed on behalf of the three accused. According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the court proceeded to frame charges against Moajjem Hossain, Nazrul Islam, Moinul Ahsan, and Md Sirajul Islam Chowdhury, officially initiating the trial process. The case originally listed 13 accused individuals. However, developments over time led to a reduction in this number. Matiur Rahman Nizami and Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed were executed following convictions in separate crimes against humanity cases. Additionally, Barrister Aminul Huq, MK Anwar, M Shamsul Islam, and AKM Mosharraf Hossain passed away due to natural causes, resulting in their names being removed from the ch arges. The anti-graft body initially filed the case on February 26, 2008, against Khaleda Zia and 15 others at Shahbagh Police Station. ACC deputy director Md Abul Kashem Fokir subsequently filed a charge sheet on October 5, 2008. The accused were alleged to have caused a financial loss of approximately Taka 159 crore to the state treasury by improperly awarding a contract for the operation of the Barapukuria Coalmine to a Chinese company, reportedly through abuse of power.
