Jailed BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia was not produced before a Dhaka court for a graft case hearing due to her physical condition, according to the prison authorities.
A former prime minister, Khaleda is serving a jail sentence since Feb 8, when she was found guilty of misappropriating foreign funds meant for the Zia Orphanage Trust.
She is serving her term, on the charges brought by the Anti-Corruption Commission, at the old jailhouse at Dhaka’s Nazimuddin Road.
On Thursday, the court was supposed to hear arguments in the Zia Charitable Trust graft case by the ACC.
Khaleda and three others stand accused of embezzling Tk 31.5 million in the case heard by the court of Dhaka’s Fifth Special Judge Md Akhtaruzzaman at Bakshibazar.
The jail authorities, however, informed the court that the current physical condition of Khaleda, an arthritis patient, does not allow her to move, said ACC counsel Mosharraf Hossain Kajal.
“A medical board has been formed for Khaleda, but she did not accept it. Arrangements are being made for allowing her personal doctor,” he said before adding the court has extended her bail until Apr 22.
Khaleda was supposed to be produced in court on March 28 in the case, but jail authorities said then she was ill, when the court fixed Thursday, when it was rescheduled once again.
The ACC started the Zia Charitable Trust graft case in 2011 against the BNP chief and three others for embezzlement of Tk 31.5 million.
The others accused in the case are Khaleda’s former political secretary Harris Chowdhury, his former personal assistant Ziaul Islam Munna, who is now the acting director (naval security and traffic) of BIWTA, and former Dhaka City mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka’s personal assistant Monirul Islam Khan.
Harris has been absconding since the case was started while Munna and Monirul made appearances in court.