Khaleda likely to be quizzed next week

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Detained former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia is likely to be quizzed next week in connection with the container handling case filed against her by the Anti-Corruption Commission, reports UNB.
"The investigation officer is likely to file a petition in a day or two to allow him to question and take a statement from the detained former Prime Minister. If permitted, it'll happen sometime text week at the sub-jail," a competent source told UNB.
Meanwhile, detained former State Minister for Energy AKM Mosharraf Hossain was questioned today (Wednesday) at the jail gate regarding the container handling case against Khaleda Zia.
Competent sources said a team comprising Anti-Corruption Commission deputy director Jahirul Huda and Taskforce-23 officer Major Mostafa Kamal questioned him for about an hour in the afternoon at the Dhaka jail gate.
AKM Mosharraf is now in Kashimpur jail. He was brought to Dhaka to appear before a court from where he was taken to Dhaka central jail for questioning.
Detained former Health Minister Dr Khandaker Mosharaf Hossain, who is now in Dhaka jail, was scheduled to be questioned in connection with the case. He could not be questioned because of time constraint. The former minister will be questioned within a day or two.
Both the ministers were the members of the purchase committee that approved the awarding of a contract to GATCO, a private company.
The Anti-Corruption Commission has already questioned former five ministers, six retired secretaries and one serving additional secretary of the Communications Ministry in connection with the high-profile case.
On September 25, former Finance Minister Saifur Rahman, former LGRD Minister Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, former Industries Minister Motiur Rahman Nizami, former Agriculture Minister MK Anwar and former Information Minister Shamsul Islam were questioned by the investigation team. All these ministers were in the purchase committee that approved the contract.
The same team on Sunday quizzed former Cabinet Secretary and PSC Chairman Dr Sa'dat Hossain, former Shipping Secretary Julfiker Haider Chowdhury and Additional Secretary of the Communications Ministry ATKM Ismail, who was a Joint Secretary of the Cabinet Division at the time of the incident.
The following day (Monday), the team questioned former secretary of the Prime Minister's office Nurul Islam, former Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Department (IMED) Secretary Manik Lal Samaddar, former Economic Relations Department (ERD) Secretary Mirza Tasadduk Hossain Beg and former Energy Secretary Nazrul Islam.
On September 2, ACC Deputy Director Golam Shahriar Chowdhury filed the case against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, her younger son Arafat Rahman Koko and 11 others for their alleged irregularities in awarding the contract.