Bangladesh Issues Arrest Warrant Against Former PM Sheikh Hasina Over Graft Charges

 On Sunday, the Bangladesh court issued arrest warrants against ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, her sister Sheikh Rehana, British MP Tulip Rizwana Siddiq, and 50 others in connection with the alleged illegal acquisition of land by abusing political power. Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Zakir Hossain passed the order after considering three separate charge sheets filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), the Dhaka Tribune newspaper reported.

Judge Hossain fixed April 27 to review reports on the execution of the arrest orders, the newspaper quoted ACC Assistant Director (Prosecution) Aminul Islam as saying. Citing court sources, Bengali newspaper Prothom Alo reported that the ACC recently submitted charge sheets to the court against 53 people in three separate cases on corruption charges in plot allocation. As all 53 accused, including Hasina, were absconding, the court issued arrest warrants against them, the paper said. On April 10, the same court issued arrest warrants against Hasina, her daughter Saima Wazed Putul, and 17 others in a separate corruption case related to Rajuk plot allotments. Putul has been serving as the South East Asian regional director for the World Health Organization (WHO) based in New Delhi since November 1, 2023.

On January 13, the ACC filed a case against Rehana for allegedly acquiring a 10-katha plot in the Purbachal New Town Project through the abuse of authority. The case named 15 accused, including Hasina and Rehana’s daughter, British lawmaker Tulip Rizwana Siddiq. Rehana did not hold any official position in the past regime. After the investigation, the ACC submitted a charge sheet on March 10 against 17 individuals, adding two more names. In a second case, the ACC filed charges against Azmina Siddiq for similar irregularities in acquiring a 10-katha plot in Purbachal. This case initially listed 16 accused, including Tulip Siddiq and Sheikh Hasina. The final chargesheet, submitted on March 10, named 18 people.

The ACC filed a third case the same day against Rehana’s son, Radwan Mujib Siddiq, who was accused of obtaining a plot using political influence. Tulip Siddiq and Sheikh Hasina were among the 16 named in the initial complaint. The final chargesheet also included 18 accused. Hasina is also accused of numerous charges like mass murders, crimes against humanity, and enforced disappearances, while these cases were being filed with Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal. Hasina’s 16-year-long Awami League regime was toppled on August 5 last year in a violent mass uprising. Since then, 77-year-old Hasina has been living in India.

(Note: Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by Jagran English and has been published through a syndicated feed.)

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