A Dhaka court set August 8 for the hearing on charge framing against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and six others in the Barapukuria coal mine corruption case.
Judge Md Akhtaruzzaman of the Special Judge's Court-2 of Dhaka passed the order on Thursday after a petition was filed on behalf of Khaleda, seeking deferment of the hearing, the BNP chief's lawyer Hannan Bhuiyan confirmed.
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On February 26, 2008, the Anti- Corruption Commission (ACC) filed the case with Shahbagh Police Station accusing 16 people, including Khaleda and 10 of her former cabinet colleagues, of taking Tk 158 crore 71 lakh in kickbacks on the Barapukuria coal mine deal which was awarded to the highest bidder instead of the lowest one.
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Thirteen people including the BNP chairperson were accused in the case.
Among them, Motiur Rahman Nizami and Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mojaheed were executed for their crimes against humanity and four others have already died several times.