Khaleda Zia acquitted in Cumilla sabotage case

A Cumilla court has acquitted BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia in a 2015 sabotage case filed at the Chauddagram Police Station, report agencies.
Cumilla-1 Additional District and Sessions Judge Afroza Sheuly acquitted her of the case on Monday, but the matter came to light on Wednesday.
The court's Public Prosecutor Kaimul Haque Rinku said a covered van was vandalised and set on fire on the Dhaka-Chattogram highway in the Haiderpul area of the district's Chauddagram Upazila on January 25, 2015, during a general strike. The case was filed with Chauddagram Police Station in this connection.
A total of 32 people were accused in the case initiated by police under the Special Powers Act. Khaleda was the 32nd accused in the case.
No specific evidence has been found against Khaleda and she has been acquitted as it was proven that the case was filed for political reasons, Rinku said.
He added that a total of 32 people were named in the lawsuit, but 42 people were charged afterwards. Of them, 36 people have been removed from the case.
The court will decide on whether to continue the trials the remaining six later as they have received a stay order from the High Court.
Advocate Mahbubul Haque Khandaker, organising secretary of the Jatiyatabadi Ainjibi Forum, said: "There is no allegation against Khaleda Zia in the case. She was stuck at that time because of the sand-laden trucks stationed outside her home in Dhaka."