The Anti-Corruption Commission on
Sunday pressed charges against former prime minister Khaleda Zia, ten of her
cabinet colleagues and five others in the Barapukuria coalmine corruption case.
The
commission's deputy director, Abul Kashem Fakir, also the investigation officer
of the case, submitted the charge sheet to the chief metropolitan magistrate's
court in Dhaka implicating the 16 in embezzlement of
more than Tk 158 million by abusing power in awarding the Chinese company, CMC
Consortium, the contract for Barapukuria mining in 2005.
The consortium,
the highest bidder, was given the contract without any re-tender, stated the
charge sheet, which also named 34 people as prosecution witnesses.
Court sources said the charge sheet
mentioned that Khaleda, Mannan Bhuiyan, MK Anwar and Shamsul Islam were on bail
while Khandakar Mosharraf and Altaf, now in jail, were shown arrested in the
case.
The charge sheet showed other accused persons, including Nizami and Mujahid, fugitives and the investigation officer sought warrants for their arrest.
