HC clears way for trial against ex-CPA chairman at lower court

The High Court yesterday cleared way for the lower court concerned to resume the trial proceedings against Commodore (retd) Zulfiqar Ali, former chairman of Chittagong Port Authority, in Gatco corruption case.

The HC lifted its 2008 stay order on the trial proceedings against Zulfiqar, a co-accused of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia in the case.

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The bench of Justice Md Ruhul Quddus and Justice Mahmudul Haque came up with the verdict while rejecting a petition filed by Zulfiqar for scraping the case proceedings against him, Anti Corruption Commission lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan told The Daily Star.

The Special Judge's Court-3 of Dhaka is now set to frame charges against Zulfiqar, he added.

On February 23, the same court asked Khaleda to appear before it on April 13 in the graft case.

The HC in August last year had rejected two petitions filed by Khaleda challenging the legality of trial proceedings in the case.

The HC on February 15 released its full verdict asking the BNP chief to surrender before the trial court within two months from the day of receipt of the verdict copy.

On September 2, 2007, the ACC lodged the case with Tejgaon police against Khaleda, her youngest son Arafat Rahman Koko, Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Motiur Rahman Nizami and 10 others under the Emergency Powers Rules.

Of them, Koko, former BNP secretary general Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan and former finance minister M Saifur Rahman died.

The case statement says, there was corruption in the awarding of a contract to Global Agro Trade (Pvt) Company Ltd (Gatco) for container management at inland depots in Dhaka and Chittagong. The graft allegedly cost the state exchequer over Tk 1,000 crore.On August 13, 2008, following the petition of Zulfiqar, the HC stayed the case proceedings against him and issued a rule upon the government and the ACC to explain why the case proceedings should not be quashed.