Verdict on Khaleda's pleas in coalmine graft case on Thursday

The Dhaka High Court is set to announce on Thursday its verdict on Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairperson Khaleda Zia's petitions seeking to trash the Barapukuria coalmine graft case.

The two-judge bench of Justice Mohammad Nuruzzaman and Justice Abdur Rob on Tuesday fixed the date for the verdict. On August 30, the same bench finished hearing the matter and kept its order pending, bdnews24 reported.

Khaleda and 15 others are accused of causing the state exchequer a loss of about 1.59 billion taka ($20 million) by signing a deal with the China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation (CMC) to operate, manage, and maintain the Barapukuria mine.

The Anti-Corruption Commission filed the case on February 26, 2008 and the chargesheet was submitted on October 5 of the same year.

After 11 days, the high court stayed proceedings for three months and issued a ruling asking why the case should not be scrapped.

It was upheld by the apex court, bringing the case to a standstill. Khaleda secured a permanent bail on January 15, 2012.