6 more testify against Hasina, Joy, Putul in plot corruption

Staff reporter :

Testimonies have entered their third consecutive day in three cases filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission against ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, her son SajeebWazed Joy, and daughter SaimaWazedPutul.

The cases center on allegations of the fraudulent allocation of a 30-katha plot in the Purbachal New Town Project.

On Tuesday, Judge Mohammad Abdullah Al Mamun of Dhaka’s Special Judge Court heard six more depositions, bringing the total number of witnesses to 18 across the three Anti-Corruption Commission cases.

The witnesses for the day included:
o Gautam Kumar Sikder, senior principal officer at the Gonobhaban branch of Sonali Bank
o MdShariful Islam, principal officer of the same branch
o RezaulHaque, stenographer-cum-computer operator at Tax Zone-6
o Abu Taher, notice server at the same zone
o Lutfar Rahman, tax inspector from Tax Zone Khulna
Delwar Hossain, office assistant at the Ministry of Housing and Public Works
ACC lawyer Md Sultan Mahmud said after hearing their statements, the court fixed Sept 17 for the next round of depositions.

He explained that, according to RAJUK regulations, applicants for land allocation must submit an affidavit confirming that neither they nor their close blood relatives own any property within RAJUK-designated areas of Dhaka or Narayanganj.

According to him, Joy and Putul submitted affidavits stating that neither they nor their family members owned such properties.

However, the lawyer alleged that this information was false, allowing them to obtain plots in the Purbachal New Town Project.

He further claimed that their mother, Sheikh Hasina, “assisted” in facilitating the allocation of the plots.

“Their income tax records also contain discrepancies,” he added. “If the plots were acquired using undisclosed income, that would make them liable under the law.”
Earlier, on August 11, the three plaintiffs in the cases testified on the opening day of the trial.