Indictment Hearing in Khaleda's Niko Graft Case on Jan 17

A court on Tuesday fixed January 17 to hold a hearing on charge framing in the Niko graft case against BNP chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia.

Judge Sheikh Hafizur Rahman passed the order at a temporary courtroom of the Dhaka Special Judge's Court-9 at Dhaka Central Jail in Keraniganj, reports BSS.

The hearing was set to hold today, but Khaled Zia could not appear in court due to illness, and that’s why her lawyer requested the court to adjourn the hearing.

Khaleda's lawyer Zia Uddin Zia confirmed the matter to BSS.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed the case against five including Begum Khaleda Zia with Tejgaon police station on December 9, 2007, for abusing power in signing a deal with Canadian company Niko for exploring and extracting gas.

The ACC on May 5 in 2008 submitted the charge sheet against 11 people including Khaleda Zia. The ACC accused them of incurring a loss of more than Taka 13 thousand crores of state exchequer by that deal.