Staff Reporter :
A Dhaka court on Sunday ordered that trials in six high-profile corruption cases related to illegal plot allocations in the Purbachal New Town Project will proceed in the absence of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and 23 other accused individuals.
Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Md Zakir Hossain Galib issued the directive after confirming that official gazette notifications had been published declaring the accused as fugitives from justice.
The court also mandated the transfer of the cases to a Special Judge Court to conduct the full trial proceedings.
Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) prosecutor Mir Ahmed Ali Salam informed reporters that the publication of the gazette notification has paved the way for the trials to move forward under existing laws, even without the physical presence of the accused.
The hearings will now be conducted in one of Dhaka’s 11 Special Judge Courts, which are designated to handle corruption and financial crime cases.
Arrest warrants have been issued for all 24 accused, according to official notifications. Authorities believe the defendants are deliberately evading arrest and trial by remaining in hiding.
Under Section 6(13) of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1958, trials may lawfully proceed in absentia when accused individuals are intentionally avoiding court appearances.
Among those named are prominent members of the former Prime Minister’s family, including her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, daughter Saima Wazed Putul, sister Sheikh Rehana, and Rehana’s children Tulip Rizwana Siddiq (currently a British MP), Azmira Siddiq Rupu, and Radwan Mujib Siddiq Bobby.
Also implicated are former and current officials from the Ministry of Housing and Public Works and the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk), notably former Rajuk chairman Anisur Rahman Miah.
The ACC filed the six separate cases in January 2025, accusing the defendants of abusing their power and showing favouritism in the allocation of government plots in the lucrative Purbachal New Town Project.
Charge sheets for all six cases have been submitted to the court; however, none of the accused have appeared or surrendered to law enforcement.
The Special Judge Court is expected to schedule hearing dates in the coming weeks, marking one of the country’s largest corruption trials in recent years to proceed without the presence of its high-profile defendants.
