BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia, its standing committee member and former minister Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, and vice chairman and former minister Altaf Hossain Chowdhury were acquitted in the Barapukuria coal mine corruption case.

Judge Abu Taher of Dhaka Special Judges' Court-2 issued the verdict on Wednesday (November 27).

The hearing, scheduled for the day, began with the conclusion of the discharge applications for Khaleda Zia and other accused individuals. 

Following the hearing, the court acquitted Khaleda Zia and two others. 

However, the court ordered charges to be framed against four remaining accused - Nazrul Islam, former acting secretary of the Ministry of Energy, S.R. Osmani, former chairman of Petrobangla, Moinul Ahsan, former director of Petrobangla, Md. Sirajul Islam, former managing director of Barapukuria Coal Mining Company, and chairman of Hosaf Group, the local agent for the mining contract.

Several individuals named in the chargesheet were exempted from the case due to their demise or prior convictions. 

Former ministers M. Saifur Rahman, Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, M.K. Anwar, M. Shamsul Islam, Barrister Aminul Haque, and former State Minister for Energy A.K.M. Mosharraf Hossain have passed away. Additionally, Jamaat leaders Matiur Rahman Nizami and Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid, who were among the accused, had already been executed for war crimes, leading to their prior exemption.

The case was filed at Shahbagh Police Station on February 26, 2008, alleging irregularities in awarding contracts for the extraction, management, and maintenance of the Barapukuria coal mine. 

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) accused the defendants of causing a loss of Tk 158.71 crore to the state through corruption and mismanagement. A chargesheet against 16 individuals was filed on October 5, 2008.

The trial proceedings faced significant delays, remaining suspended for nine years following a High Court order in 2008. The suspension was lifted on May 28, 2017, allowing the case to proceed with hearings on the charges.

BDST: 1449 HRS, NOV 27, 2024
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