Hasina challenges bringing graft case under EPR

Dhaka, Oct 29 (UNI) Former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina has filed a writ petition in the High Court, challenging the legality of bringing a graft case against her under the Emergency Power Rules (EPR).

The petition will come up for hearing before a Division Bench ''within a day or two'', media reports said.

The Anti-corruption Commission (ACC) filed the case on September 2 with Tejgaon police station, alleging that Ms Hasina and six others recieved kickbacks to the tune of three crore taka using their influence to help a foreign company in setting up a barge-mount 100 MW power plant in Khulna.

Wartsila Power Development Ltd Consortium and its partners Summit Group and United Group won the deal during the tenure of Sheikh Hasina-led government from 1996 to 2001.

According to the prosecution, the former prime minister had received the kickbacks from the three companies between October 7, 1997 and November 24 that year in exchange for the permission to set up the power plant.

Her co-accused are former energy secretary Toufiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, former Power Development Board (PDB) chairman Noor Uddin Mahmud Kamal, Managing Director of Summit Industries and Mercantile Corporation Private Ltd Aziz Khan and Director Farid Khan, United Group Chairman Hasan Mahmud Raja and Director Abul Kalam Azad.

This is the fifth case filed against the Awami League chief, now detained in a sub-jail on the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban premises.

She was arrested on July 16 in connection with a three crore taka extortion case filed by Azam J Chowdhury, managing director of Eastcoast Private Trading Ltd, also a power company.

UNI