A Dhaka court on Tuesday fixed  April 12 for hearing on charge framing in the Niko graft case filed against BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia and 11 others.

Judge of Dhaka Special Court-9 Sheikh Hafizur Rahman fixed the fresh date following a time petition filed by Advocate Masud Ahmed Talukdar, a counsel of Khaleda Zia.

On December 9, 2007, the Anti-Corruption Commission filed the case accusing Khaleda and four others of causing a loss of Tk 137.77 billion to the state by signing an oil and gas exploration deal with Canadian company Niko on behalf of the state that was deemed to not place Bangladesh's national interest above all other considerations, and swayed by graft.

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The anti-graft body pressed charges in court against 11 people, including Khaleda, in May 2008.

The other accused in the case are BNP Standing Committee Member Moudud Ahmed, former state minister AKM Mosharraf Hossain, former principal secretary Kamal Uddin Siddique, Khandaker Shahidul Islam, CM Yusuf Hossain, former Bapex general manager Mir Mainul Haq, its former secretary Shafiur Rahman, Giasuddin Al Mamun, former parliamentarian MAH Selim and former vice-president of South-Asia affairs Niko Kashem Sharif.