Your figures didn't add up, Hasina retorts

Dhaka, Dec 26 (bdprem.com) – Sheikh Hasina Wednesday said the figures cited by the prosecution lawyer from the case against her in court did not add up. During the hearing, advocate ABM Sharfuddin Ahmed, chief counsel for the prosecution side, alleged: "Of the total extorted money, Sheikh Hasina was given Tk 1 crore, which was handed over to Sheikh Rehana on her consent." He added that Tk 50 lakh had been spent on the Bangla-language daily Dainik Banglarbani. Ahmed also alleged that Hasina's cousin Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim grabbed the rest of the money—Tk 1.5 crore. Standing in the dock, Hasina retorted. "Only 1 crore taka (for me)? Do the figures add up? They don't." The case against Hasina, her sister Rehana and their cousin Selim involves Tk 2 crore 99 lakh and 65,500 in extorted money. Earlier, defence lawyer barrister Shafique Ahmed asked the judge if he was running an in-camera trial of his client as he complained of strict security measures. "I can't take my car in. Security officials check every page of the book I carry. Is it an open court or what?" the lawyer said. The judge said: "I can't issue an order on the security arrangement. This subcontinent has a history of bomb blasts in courts and parliaments. But I can decide on books. You can bring the books in." Acting AL president Zillur Rahman told reporters: "Sheikh Hasina asked leaders and workers to stay united. She sought blessings from countrymen." Zillur said Hasina had regretted her inability to stand by Sidr survivors. Many AL adherents knelt down and touched Hasina's feet in a traditional gesture of respect when she arrived on the Sangsad Bhaban premises from special jail.