BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and three members of her family are to face trial in a loan default case.

The three family members are Arafat Rahman Koko's wife Sharmila Rahman Sithi and her daughters Zafia Rahman and Zahia Rahman.

A Dhaka court yesterday granted a Sonali Bank petition to include the four as defendants in the case on behalf of Koko, who died on January 24.

Judge Roksana Begum Happy of Artha Rin Adalat-1 passed the order after the state-run bank on March 8 filed a petition to include Khaleda and three others to contest the case.

The court also fixed April 12 for next hearing of the case.

Koko was made a defendant in the case filed for realising Tk 45.59 crore.

On October 2 of 2012, Sonali Bank Ltd filed a money suit against 10 directors of Dandy Dyeing Ltd, including BNP Senior Vice Chairman Tarique Rahman, for defaulting on a loan amounting to Tk 45.59 crore.

The company had borrowed Tk 12.16 crore from the bank's principal office in Dhaka on October 16, 2001, the case statement said.

As the company failed to pay it off, the principal loan plus interest accumulated over the last 11 years totalling to an amount of Tk 45.59 crore.

Nine other accused in the case include Arafat Rahman Koko, Giasuddin Al-Mamun and his wife Shahina Yasmine, Nasrin Iskander, wife of late Sayeed Iskander, Shams Iskander, Shafin Iskander, Sumaiya Iskander, Mozaffar Ahmed and Kazi Galib Abdus Sattar.

Nazrul Islam, senior executive officer of the bank's principal office, filed the case with Artha Rin Adalat-1, while Hosne Ara Begum moved the suit for recovery of the loan.