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The same court had earlier issued arrest warrants against Hasina, her daughter Saima Wazed, and 16 others in another case over plot allocation
Published : 13 Apr 2025, 01:17 PM
A Dhaka court has issued arrest warrants for 53 people, including ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, her sister Sheikh Rehana, Rehana’s son Radwan Mujib Siddiq, and her daughters -- British MP Tulip Siddiq and Azmina Siddiq Ruponti -- in cases related to "abuse of power" involving the allocation of six 0.5-acre plots in Dhaka’s Purbachal New Town Project.
Dhaka Metropolitan Special Judge Zakir Hossain Ghalib issued the warrants after reviewing the chargesheets in three separate cases on Sunday.
Aminul Islam, assistant director of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Prosecution Division, said: “The court has ordered a report to be submitted on Apr 27 regarding whether the accused have been arrested or not.”
Earlier, on Apr 10, the same court had issued arrest warrants against Hasina, her daughter Saima Wazed, and 16 others in another corruption case involving plot allocation.
This is the second phase of three hearings in six separate cases tied to the allocation of six 0.5-acre plots in the Purbachal area.
Should the court accept the chargesheets following these preliminary hearings, it will move ahead with framing charges, thereby officially commencing the trial process.
The ACC submitted the chargesheets on Mar 24 in connection with the six land allocation cases.
All six were filed at the Senior Special Judges' Court in Dhaka.
Among the accused are seven members of Hasina’s family, including her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy and daughter Saima.
The remaining two cases are to be heard on Tuesday.
On Mar 10, the ACC formally approved the chargesheets in six cases.
An ACC official said Awami League chief Hasina allegedly abused her power as prime minister to secure a plot for herself and her son Joy on Road No. 203 of the diplomatic zone of Sector No. 27 under the Purbachal New Town project.
After the anti-graft agency found evidence of irregularities in the plot allocation, they proceeded with the charges.
Before filing the cases against Hasina and Joy, the ACC lodged its first case on Jan 12 against former UK City minister Tulip over the abuse of power and irregularities regarding plot allocation.
On Jan 13, the graft watchdog filed another case against Rehana, her son Radwan, and her daughter Azmina.
Tulip, another of Rehana's daughters, was also implicated in the case against her family.
Key suspects include senior officials from the housing and public works ministry and RAJUK.
According to the First Information Reports (FIRs) of two cases, former prime minister Hasina concealed the fact that she and her family -- including her son, daughter, sister, and her sister's children -- already owned residential properties in Dhaka.
Despite this, she secured a plot in Purbachal, violating the allocation laws and regulations.
The ACC alleged that Hasina misused her authority by influencing officials from her office, the housing ministry, and RAJUK to facilitate the unlawful allocation of the plots.
ACCUSED IN REHANA’S CASE
In the case against Rehana, 15 people have been named as accused.
Among them are her daughter Tulip, Hasina, and officials from the Ministry of Housing and Public Works and RAJUK.
Upon reviewing documents from RAJUK, the ministry, and other departments, the anti-graft agency found that Rehana had disclosed ownership of a flat in Dhaka’s Segunbagicha in her income tax return.
She had also reported owning 160 decimals of agricultural land in Konabari in her tax return.
Rehana’s son Radwan said he had received three flats in Gulshan from his mother as a gift.
Both he and his sister Ruponti had been allocated 10-katha plots each in the Purbachal New Town Project.
However, these details were reportedly concealed during the plot allocation process.
According to the case details, Tulip allegedly applied pressure on Hasina to secure the plots for her mother, Rehana, and her siblings.
Hasina, in turn, allegedly ordered RAJUK’s chairman through the Ministry of Housing and Public Works to facilitate the allocation.
The ACC has indicated that there is evidence of regulatory violations in the plot allocation process.
ACCUSED IN RADWAN’S CASE
In the case against Radwan, 16 people have been named as accused.
Among them are his sister Tulip, his aunt Hasina, and several officials from the Ministry of Housing and Public Works and RAJUK.
According to the case details, Radwan disclosed in his income tax return that he received five flats in Gulshan from his uncle Tarique Ahmed Siddique.
In addition, he mentioned that his mother and sister had plots in Purbachal, and so did Hasina and her children.
However, these details were not disclosed during the plot allocation process, which allegedly violated laws and regulations related to the Purbachal New Town Project.
The case further indicates that Radwan's sister Tulip applied pressure on her aunt Hasina, who then influenced officials at the ministry and RAJUK to secure the plot in his nephew’s name.
AZMINA’S CASE
Azmina's case involves 16 accused, including her brother Radwan, sister Tulip, her aunt Hasina, and several officials from the housing and public works ministry and RAJUK.
According to the case details, Azmina disclosed in her income tax return that she received a flat in Gulshan from her older sister Tulip.
It was also revealed that her mother and brother owned plots in Purbachal, and so did Hasina and her children.
However, these details were reportedly omitted during the plot allocation process, raising concerns over legal violations regarding the Purbachal project.
The case also suggests that Tulip pressured Hasina into influencing the allocation of the plot in Azmina’s name.
The Hasina-led Awami League regime was ousted during a mass uprising on Aug 5, 2024. On the same day, she fled to India, and the rest of her family has since remained outside the country.
Subsequently, on Dec 26, 2024, the ACC launched an investigation into allegations of irregularities and corruption involving the allocation of six plots in the Purbachal.
The plots were reportedly allocated in the names of the former prime minister and five members of her family.
According to the documents reviewed by the ACC, Hasina was granted a 10-katha (plot No. 009) on Aug 3, 2022, with the allotment letter issued in her name by RAJUK.
Joy’s allotment letter was issued on Oct 24, 2022, with the ownership finalised on Nov 10, 2024. Meanwhile, Saima’s allocation was confirmed on Nov 2, 2024.
Similarly, her son Joy (plot No. 015), and daughter Saima (plot No. 017) received 10-katha each.
Rehana secured 10-katha (plot No. 013), while her children, Radwan (plot No. 011) and Azmina (plot No. 019) were also allocated 10-katha each.
The allegations came under heightened scrutiny last year when the High Court formed a three-strong committee to examine potential irregularities in the allocation of Purbachal plots to Hasina and six members of her family.
The committee was also tasked with investigating broader allegations of favouritism in RAJUK plot allocations spanning the Awami League’s tenure from 2009 to 2024.
