Govt appeals against Khaleda bail

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The government and the Anticorruption Commission (ACC) Monday sought Supreme Court freezes on the High Court bail to former prime minister Khaleda Zia and the stay on GATCO corruption case proceedings, reports bdnews24.com.
The court of the chamber judge of the Appellate Division set Tuesday for next hearing on the appeal.
"The government and the Anticorruption Commission have appealed to the Supreme Court for a stay order on the High Court order granting bail to Khaleda Zia and suspending the proceedings of the GATCO case," state counsel ASM Khalequzzaman told reporters.
"The hearing on the appeal will be held at the court of the chamber judge on Tuesday," he said.
On the latest government appeal, Khaleda's main counsel barrister Rafique-ul Huq told reporters: "Political governments appeal for a stay on such orders. The caretaker government should not appeal. Khaleda Zia has been detained in the sub-jail. She is not fleeing the country."
He said there was no precedent of a High Court verdict frozen in any civilised country.
A High Court bench of justices Shah Abu Nayeem Mominur Rahman and Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury Sunday granted bail to Khaleda and stayed proceedings of the GATCO case on a writ petition by the BNP chairperson.
Meanwhile, four former secretaries Monday testified before ACC investigators in the GATCO corruption case against former prime minister Khaleda Zia.
They are former secretary to Prime Minister's Office AHM Nurul Islam, former secretary to IMED Manik Lal Samaddar, former information secretary Mirza Tasadduk Hossain Baig and former energy secretary Nazrul Islam.
Nurul Islam was first to reach at the ACC headquarters at 9:40am and he left 11:50am. He refused to comment on his testimony.
Manik Lal Samaddar reached the ACC at 10:34am. Mirza Tasadduk followed him.
"We were the assisting officers in that incident. But nothing can be said at this stage for the sake of investigation," Samaddar told reporters while leaving at 12:50pm.
He said 'no' to a question on whether he felt guilty for the incident.
Emerging from the ACC office at 1:40pm, Mirza Tasadduk said to reporters, "I told the investigators what they wanted to know." On question of guilt, he said, " No sense of guilt. What guilt?"
Nazrul Islam went in at 12:15pm.
Former cabinet secretary and incumbent Public Service Commission chairman Dr Sa'adat Hossain and former joint secretary to the cabinet division ATKM Ismail testified before the ACC Sunday.
ACC investigators questioned five members of the former cabinet committee on purchase on Sep 25. The members were former local government minister Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, former finance minister M Saifur Rahman, former industries minister Matiur Rahman Nizami, former agriculture minister M K Anwar and former information minister M Shamsul Islam.