Court orders public notice for Hasina

Staff Reporter :

A Dhaka court has ordered public notices to be published in newspapers, summoning former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, her family members including Sajeeb Wazed Joy, Saima Wazed Putul, Sheikh Rehana, and British MP Tulip Rizwana Siddiq, along with 17 other individuals to appear in court in connection with five corruption cases over irregularities in plot allocations.

The order was issued on Tuesday by Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Zakir Hossain Galib, who also set 20 July as the next date for submitting a report on the matter.

According to Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) prosecutor Mir Ahmed Ali Salam, six cases relating to corruption in the allocation of plots by the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) were scheduled for hearing on Tuesday.

A previous order on 17 June had directed that a gazette be published for one case, but it was not carried out. Meanwhile, reports submitted to the court stated that the 23 accused in the other five cases were absconding.

The ACC requested the publication of notices through Bangladesh Government Press (BG Press), and the court accepted the petition. All six cases are now scheduled for hearing on 20 July.
The list of individuals ordered to be summoned includes:
Sheikh Hasina, Sajeeb Wazed Joy (son) ,Saima Wazed Putul (daughter) ,Sheikh Rehana (sister), Tulip Rizwana Siddiq (niece and British MP), Radwan Mujib Siddiq Bobby (nephew), Azmira Siddiq (niece) , officials from the Ministry of Housing and Public Works and RAJUK, including:
Md Shahid Ullah Khandaker (secretary) ,Kazi Wasi Uddin (additional secretary), Md Saiful Islam Sarkar (administrative officer) ,Purabi Goldar (senior assistant secretary) ,Md Anisur Rahman Miah (former RAJUK chairman’s PA) ,Mohammad Khurshid Alam ,Kabir Al Asad, Tanmoy Das , Md Nurul Islam ,Mohammad Nasir Uddin ,retired Major Engr. Samsuddin Ahmad Chowdhury ,Sheikh Shahinul Islam ,Md Hafizur Rahman ,Habibur Rahman ,Former State Minister for Housing and Public Works Sharif Ahmed, and former PM’s Principal Secretary Salahuddin.

The ACC had filed one of the cases on 12 January, accusing Saima Wazed Putul of abusing her mother Sheikh Hasina’s authority to illegally acquire a plot in the Purbachal New Town Project, despite already owning property in Dhaka under RAJUK’s jurisdiction.

The complaint alleges violation of laws, regulations, and ethical norms, and claims the accused misused their positions to manipulate public officials.