Khaleda Zia gets bail in 5 cases

Dhaka, April 5: Bangladesh opposition leader Khaleda Zia on Tuesday, April 5 surrendered to separate courts in Dhaka before securing bail in five cases related to violence, graft and sedition.

The former prime minister and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chief appeared in several courts in connection with the cases -- two over firebombing on a bus at the capital's Jatrabarhi, an attack on a rally led by Minister Shajahan Khan, and a case each relating to graft and sedition, media reported.

Zia appeared before the Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Court, accompanied by BNP leaders and activists and left the premises after getting bail.

The same court had on March 30 issued an arrest warrant against Zia and 27 others for an attack on a bus in which one person was killed and 30 others injured, although Zia was not physically present when the incident took place.

The attack took place during an agitation -- during which at least 120 people died in strikes and protests -- launched by the BNP last year to demand a change in the election dates.