A Dhaka court has set Sept 23 to hold the hearing on charge framing in Niko graft case against BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia and others.

Judge Sheikh Hafizur Rahman of Dhaka special judge court-9 passed the order on Tuesday (Aug 27) morning at the newly built courtroom in front of Keraniganj Central Jail, reports the state news agency BSS.

The court had fixed the date for Tuesday to holding hearing on charge framing, but the jail authorities could not produce Khaleda before the court as she is undergoing treatment at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU).

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

The ACC submitted the charge-sheet against 11 people, including Khaleda, on May 5, 2008.

The ACC accused them of incurring a loss of more than Tk 130 billion to the state exchequer by that deal.

Khaleda is now serving a term in jail after being convicted in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case on Feb 8, 2018.

She was sentenced to five years in prison which was later enhanced to 10 years by the High Court.