Khaleda acquitted in coal mine corruption case

A Dhaka court has acquitted BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, and two others in the Barapukuria coal mine corruption case.

Judge Md Abu Taher of Dhaka's Special Judge's Court-3 acquitted them from the case on Wednesday (November 27).

The other two who were acquitted are former Commerce Minister Altaf Hossain Chowdhury and former Health Dr Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain.

The case was filed on February 26, 2008, alleging irregularities in the appointment of contractors for the Barapukuria coal mine in Dinajpur and embezzlement of Tk 158.71 crore. The then Assistant Director of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Md Shamsul Alam filed the case accusing 13 people, including Khaleda Zia and her cabinet members.

Among the accused, Jamaat leaders Matiur Rahman Nizami and Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid were hanged in a crime against humanity case. Another accused, Barrister Aminul Haque, died on April 21, 2019.

The accused in this case, BNP leader and former Agriculture Minister MK Anwar, died on October 24, 2017, former Information Minister and BNP Standing Committee member M Shamsul Islam on April 26, 2018, and former State Minister for Energy and Mineral Resources AKM Mosharraf Hossain on October 17, 2020.