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Published : 01 Dec 2025, 11:23 AM
Security has been ramped up in the court area of Dhaka ahead of the verdict in another corruption case against ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, her sister Sheikh Rehana, and her niece, British MP Tulip Siddiq.
In addition to regular security on the court premises and its surrounding areas, law-enforcing agencies have taken additional measures since Monday morning, after “taking the importance of the case into consideration”.
Additional police personnel were seen on duty throughout the area on Monday, along with a large deployment of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB).
Armoured police vehicles and prison vans have been kept ready to deal with any unrest.
Police and BGB personnel are on alert at the main gates of the court, and anyone “suspicious” is being questioned and searched.
Additional police personnel have also been deployed at the front verandah and entrance of the courthouse.
Sutrapur Police Station chief Md Saiful Islam said that “additional police personnel” have been deployed on the court premises and its surrounding areas ahead of the verdict involving the Hasina family.
“In addition to the regular personnel on duty, additional police personnel have been deployed in the court area. Police have also been deployed at every street corner outside. We are fully prepared to deal with any situation.”
Hasina, Rehana and her daughter Tulip -- a Labour MP forced to resign as a UK junior minister after links to family corruption surfaced earlier this year -- and 14 others are listed as suspects in the case.
The case concerns the alleged illegal allocation of a 10-katha (approximately 31.25 decimal or 13,610 square feet) plot in the government’s Purbachal New Town Project in Dhaka.
Judge Rabiul Alam of Dhaka’s Fourth Special Judges’ Court will deliver the verdict.
The judgement comes just days after Hasina herself was sentenced to 21 years in prison in three separate Purbachal plot corruption cases.
Earlier, on Nov 17, Hasina was sentenced to death by the International Crimes Tribunal for crimes against humanity in her attempt to suppress the July Uprising of 2024.
Tulip is also a suspect in two other plot corruption cases involving her brother Radwan Mujib Siddiq Bobby and sister Azmina Siddiq Ruponti.
If convicted under Section 409 of the Bangladesh Penal Code, the maximum penalty is life imprisonment.
ACC Prosecutor Tarikul Islam said, “We have tried to prove every charge through testimony. Section 409 carries life imprisonment. We expect the maximum sentence.”
Among the 17 suspects, only Khurshed Alam, former RAJUK member for estate and land, is currently in prison. Judge Alam recently handed him lighter three-year sentences in three related cases for surrendering and “showing respect to the court”.
His lawyer Shahinur Rahman said, “The nature of the cases is identical, only the allottees differ. He deserves acquittal. We hope he will be cleared.”
HOW THE CASES BEGAN
In January, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) initiated six criminal cases accusing the Hasina–Rehana family of illegally securing 60 kathas (roughly 99 decimals or 43,120 square feet) of prime real estate in Purbachal using political influence and administrative manipulation.
On Thursday, Hasina was convicted in three of those cases. Her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy and daughter Saima Wazed Putul were each sentenced to five years in separate related cases.
The verdict on Rehana’s plot allocation is now next in line. Cases against her son Bobby and daughter Ruponti are still at the testimony stage.
FROM INVESTIGATION TO INDICTMENT
The corruption inquiries began after the July Uprising, which toppled the Awami League government. Hasina fled to India the same day and other family members also left Bangladesh.
On Dec 26, the ACC launched an inquiry after allegations surfaced in the media that six members of Hasina’s family had obtained prime plots in Purbachal without due process.
Six plots -- numbers 9, 11, 13, 15, 17 and 19 -- were allegedly allocated to Hasina, Joy, Putul, Rehana, Bobby and Ruponti.
In October, the High Court appointed a three-member committee to investigate the Purbachal allocations and broader irregularities in RAJUK’s land allotments during 2009–2024.
On Jan 13, ACC Deputy Director Salah Uddin filed the Rehana plot case implicating 15 people. Following investigation, the number of suspects was expanded to 17. Arrest warrants were issued on Apr 13. None of the defendants appeared before the court despite formal notices.
Charges were framed on Jul 13 this year, and testimony began on Aug 13, continuing through a series of hearings featuring senior RAJUK, ministry, banking, tax and registration officials.
The final witness -- the ACC’s own investigator Afnan Jannat Keya -- was cross-examined on Nov 18. Defence arguments concluded on Nov 25, when the court set Monday as verdict day.
