Dhaka: Sonali Bank PLC authorities have withdrawn the Taka 45-crore loan default case against BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia, the party's Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman, and 14 others related to an alleged default by Dandy Dyeing Limited.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, Khaleda Zia's lawyer, Mostaq Ahmed Koel, confirmed that Dhaka Money Loan Court-1 passed the order on November 11, allowing Sonali Bank's plea to retract the case. The bank's panel lawyer, Advocate Jahangir Hossain, stated that the case was withdrawn after Dandy Dyeing Limited settled its outstanding dues with the bank. "We submitted a petition seeking withdrawal of the case after full repayment. The court granted the petition," he explained.
The case documents reveal that on October 2, 2013, Sonali Bank's senior executive officer, Nazrul Islam, filed the money loan recovery case with Dhaka's 1st Money Loan Court. The case accused Dandy Dyeing Ltd of defaulting on a loan amounting to Taka 45, 59, 37,295. Following the death of co-accused Arafat Rahman Koko, the bank sought court approval on March 8, 2015, to include his mother, Khaleda Zia, wife Sharmila Rahman, and daughters Jafia and Zahia as defendants under Islamic inheritance rules, which was granted on March 16, 2015.
On February 22, 2016, the court framed issues against all 16 defendants, including Khaleda Zia and Tarique Rahman. The defendants listed were Dandy Dyeing Ltd, BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia, Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman, Sharmila Rahman, Jafia Rahman, Zahia Rahman, Shams Eskander, Safin Eskander, Sumaiya Eskander, Begum Nasrin Ahmed, Giasuddin Al Mamun, his wife Shahina Yasmin, Kazi Galib Ahmed, Shamsun Nahar, and Masud Hasan.