A Dhaka court has issued arrest warrants for ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, and 27 others in two separate corruption cases filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) concerning illicit plot allocations by the Capital Development Authority (RAJUK).
On 15 April, Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Zakir Hossain Galib took cognisance of the chargesheets filed by the ACC, which named 12 accused in one case and 17 in another. As all the accused are currently absconding, the court ordered the issuance of arrest warrants and directed the authorities to submit a report on the arrests by 29 April.
With this development, six arrest warrants have now been issued against Hasina in connection with multiple ACC investigations.
The ACC’s Assistant Director for Prosecution, Aminul Islam, confirmed the court’s decision.
Among those named in the warrants are senior civil servants including Saiful Islam Sarkar, Administrative Officer of the Ministry of Housing and Public Works; Senior Assistant Secretary Purabi Goldar; Additional Secretary (Administration) Kazi Wasi Uddin; and Secretary Shahid Ullah Khandaker. Other accused include former RAJUK Chairman Anisur Rahman Miah, several current and former RAJUK members and directors, retired military engineer Shamsuddin Ahmad Chowdhury, and former State Minister for Housing and Public Works Sharif Ahmed. Also named is Mohammad Salahuddin, who served as Hasina’s Principal Secretary-1.
According to the ACC, evidence has surfaced that Sheikh Hasina, her sister Sheikh Rehana’s family members, Sharif Ahmed, Salahuddin, and 14 officials of the Ministry of Housing and Public Works illegally secured 60 kathas of land in the 27th sector of Purbachal's Road No. 203 despite not being eligible.
The chargesheets, filed on 12, 13, and 14 January, allege that Hasina and others abused their positions of power while in office to obtain the plots with corrupt intent. The cases cite offences under sections 161, 163, 164, 409, and 109 of the Penal Code 1860, along with section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1947.
Sheikh Hasina, who led the country for over 15 years, fled to India on 5 August last year following a student-led uprising that toppled her government. She has remained there since.
