Tulip Siddiq, a Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom and former City Minister, is now facing trial in Bangladesh for these corruption allegations. Earlier, on August 11, testimony began in three other related cases against Sheikh Hasina, her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, and daughter Saima Wazed Putul.
According to the ACC, Sheikh Hasina and her family members abused their authority to secure six plots, each measuring 10 kathas, in Sector 27 of the Purbachal housing project, despite being ineligible for such allocations. ACC Public Prosecutor Khan Md. Moinul Hossain stated that, as per Rajuk’s regulations, only individuals without any land, house, or car in Dhaka are eligible to apply for plot allocations. However, Sheikh Hasina’s family submitted false affidavits claiming they owned no property, which was later disproved by the ACC’s investigation.
On July 31, two special judge courts in Dhaka framed charges against 23 individuals, including Sheikh Hasina, Sheikh Rehana, and seven other family members, across six cases. The court of Judge Abdullah Al Mamun at Special Judge Court-5 scheduled testimony for August 11 in three cases involving Sheikh Hasina, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, and Saima Wazed Putul, while Judge Md. Rabiul Alam at Special Judge Court-4 set August 13 for testimony in the remaining three cases involving Sheikh Rehana, Tulip, Azmina, and Radwan.
In addition to the Sheikh family, 16 other individuals have been accused in these cases. They include former Public Works Minister Sharif Ahmed, former Public Works Secretary Shahid Ulla Khandaker, Additional Secretary Kazi Wasi Uddin, Senior Assistant Secretary Purabi Goldar, Administrative Officer Saiful Islam Sarker, former Rajuk Chairman Anisur Rahman Miah, former Rajuk members Mohammad Khurshid Alam, Kabir Al Asad, Tanmoy Das, Nurul Islam, Mohammad Nasir Uddin, Samsuddin Ahmed Chowdhury, Director Sheikh Shahinul Islam, Deputy Directors Hafizur Rahman and Habibur Rahman, and former Prime Minister’s Private Secretary Salauddin.
The ACC initiated its investigation into these plot allocations on December 26, 2024. Subsequently, six separate cases were filed on January 12, 13, and 14, 2025. The charge sheets state that the accused violated sections 161/163/164/409/109 of the Penal Code, 1860, and section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947.
As the accused are currently absconding, arrest warrants have been issued against them. The next date for testimony has been set for August 26.
