A court here on Wednesday exempted BNP chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia, Dr Kandaker Mosharraf Hossain and Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury from Gatco graft case.
 
Dhaka Special Judge Court-3 Judge Abu Taher passed the order after holding a hearing on charge framing in the case. The court, however, framed charges against 12 other accused including the former chairman of Chittagong Port Authority Commodore (Retd) Zulfikar Ali.
 
The 12 accused, who have been indicted in the case are- Commodore (Retd) Zulfikar Ali, Jahanara Ansar, Ismail Hossain Saimon, AKM Musa Kazal, Ehsan Eusuf, Julfikar Haider Chowdhury, AK Rashid Uddin Ahmed, then Gatco director Shahjahan M Hasib, Syed Tanvir Ahmed, Syed Galib Ahmed, ASM Shahadat Hossain, and AM Sanowar Hossain.
 
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed the case against 13 people, including Khaleda and her younger son Arafat Rahman on September 2, 2007, with Tejgaon Police Station over penning a contract with Global Agro Trade (Pvt) Co Ltd (Gatco) for container management at inland container depots in Dhaka and Chattogram.
 
The anti-graft body accused Khaleda Zia and others of causing a loss of Taka 14.56 crore to the state by awarding the job of container management at Dhaka ICD and Chattogram Port to Gatco.
 
A formal charge was submitted against 24 on May 13, 2008. But of the 24 accused, eight, including Arafat and Saifur Rahman, died earlier. Another accused Matiur Rahman Nizami was hanged in a crime against humanity case. Their names were dropped, leaving 15 accused to face trial in the case.