Dhaka: BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia was served papaya juice and assorted fruits after she was taken to Old Central Jail on Nazimuddin Road in Old town of Dhaka on Thursday.

Half-an hour after she was sentenced to five years in prison in the much-talked-about Zia Orphanage Trust graft case by a special court at Bakshibazar, the BNP chief was taken to the jail by a white SUV amid tight security measures.

According to a jail official, Khaleda Zia’s domestic help Fatema Begum is accompanying her inside the jail.

He said Ahsan Habib, a physician of the central jail, conducted a physical check-up of Khaleda Zia and found her blood pressure and pulses normal.

Later, she was given papaya juice and some low-sugar fruits like apple, oranges and grapes.

The BNP chief has now been kept in a large room which was earlier used as the office of the jail super.

‘The room has been made neat and clean and upgraded with all facilities like AC, cable TV connection, kitchen, healthy washroom and cozy bed, for a VIP prisoner,’ said a jail official wishing anonymity.

He said the BNP chief will be kept there for a few days, and she will either be moved to the old jail’s female ward near the

daycare centre, or to a rented house that will be declared a sub-jail by the Home Ministry.

Earlier in the day, a special court convicted Khaleda and the sentenced her to five years’ imprisonment in much-talked-about Zia Orphanage Trust graft case.

Five other accused in the case, including her son and BNP senior vice-chairman Tarique Rahman, were sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment each. The court also fined the five accused Tk. 2.10 crore each.

Judge Md Akhtaruzzaman of the special court-5 handed down the verdict in the sensational case in his crowded courtroom at 2:30 pm amid tight security in and around the court. 

The judge pronounced the term and said the term was reduced due to ‘her health and social status’.