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Published : 11 Aug 2025, 09:29 AM
A Dhaka court has begun hearing witness testimonies against deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina in one of three corruption cases filed over alleged irregularities in the allocation of plots under the Purbachal New Town Project.
On Monday, the complainant, Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Deputy Director Salahuddin, gave his deposition before Judge Mohammad Abdullah Al Mamun of Dhaka’s Fifth Special Judge’s Court.
ACC prosecutor Muhammad Sultan Mahmud said the three cases involve different sets of accused. In one case, Hasina is charged alongside 11 others, while her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy and 16 others are implicated in another. The third case accuses Hasina's daughter Saima Wazed Putul along with 17 others.
"Warrants have been issued for their arrests as they are absconding,” the prosecutor said.
There is no scope to cross-examine the witnesses as the suspects are being tried in absentia, he added.
On Jul 31, two special judges' courts in Dhaka indicted ousted prime minister Hasina, her sister Sheikh Rehana, and 23 others, including their children, in six cases over corruption involving the Purbachal New Town Project and ordered the cases to trial.
Judge Mamun set Aug 11 as the date for the testimony hearing against Hasina, her son Joy, and her daughter Putul in three of the cases.
Judge Rabiul Alam of another Dhaka Special Judge's Court set Aug 13 as the date for hearing testimony against Rehana, her son Radwan Mujib Siddiq Bobby, her daughter Tulip Rizwana Siddiq, and Azmina Siddiq Ruponti in three more graft cases.
Aside from the members of the Sheikh family, the 23 others accused in the cases include former Public Works Department (PWD) secretary Shahid Ullah Khandaker, former additional secretary Kazi Wasi Uddin, Administrative Officer Saiful Islam Sarkar, Senior Assistant Secretary Purabi Goldar, former RAJUK Chairman Anisur Rahman Mia, former members of RAJUK Mohammad Khurshid Alam, Kabir Al Asad, Tanmoy Das, Mohammad Nasir Uddin, Nurul Islam, retired army major Shamsuddin Ahmed Chowdhury, director Sheikh Shahinul Islam, deputy directors Md Hafizur Rahman and Habibur Rahman, former prime minister’s private secretary Mohammad Salah Uddin and former state minister for PWD and housing Sharif Ahmed.
Hasina has been in India since she fled the country after being ousted in a student-led mass uprising on Aug 5, 2024. The rest of her family is also abroad.
The ACC began investigating allegations of irregularities and corruption in the allocation of six plots of 10 katha (about 0.167 acres) each in the names of the Sheikh family members in the Purbachal New Town Project in December. Then, on Jan 12, the ACC filed its first case against Putul on charges of abuse of power and violation of rules in the allocation of plots. The next day, the agency filed cases against Rehana, her son Bobby, and daughter Ruponti.
On Jan 14, the ACC filed two cases against Hasina and her son Joy. The ACC has named Sheikh Hasina as a suspect in all six cases. Some other suspects have also been accused in multiple cases.
The graftbusters allege that while in the highest office of government, Hasina and her family abused their power to obtain plot allocations in their favour. Despite being ineligible, six plots were allegedly allotted to them.
