Dhaka: A court official on Tuesday pasted a copy of the summon issued against BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia in a sedition case on the main gate of her Gulshan residence as no one on behalf of her received it.

Zabid Hossain Bachchu, an official of the Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate CMM) Court, glued the summon notice to the wall of the BNP chief’s residence’s main gate at about 5:00pm, CMM court’s Nazir Masud Khan told UNB.

Masud said Bachchu went to Khaleda’s residence at about 12:00noon to hand over a summon copy to her. ‘He waited until 5:30pm, but no one from the BNP chairperson’s residence received it on her behalf. Later, he pasted it on main entrance of her residence.’

Contacted, officials at Khaleda’s Gulshan office and BNP leaders declined to make any comment on it.

Earlier on Monday, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Rashed Talukdar summoned Khaleda Zia to appear before it on 23 March in a sedition case to explain her comments on the number of 1971 martyrs.

The court summoned her after taking cognizance of the treason charge against the BNP chief under sections 123 (A), 124 (A) and 505 of Bangladesh Penal Code.

Supreme Court lawyer Momtaz Uddin Ahmed Mehedi, also a member of executive body of Bangladesh Awami League, filed the case with the court, urging it to issue a warrant for Khaleda's arrest.

On 21 December last, Khaleda Zia at a discussion at the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh raised questions about the actual number of Liberation War martyrs saying, ‘There're controversies over how many were martyred in the Liberation War. There're also many books and documents on the controversies.’

Home Ministry approved filing of the sedition case against Khaleda on 21 January, but BNP leaders are claiming there was nothing seditious in the BNP chief's remark about martyrs who laid down their lives during the 1971 Liberation War.