Hasina, Tulip, Azmina, Bobby sentenced to different terms

A Dhaka court on Monday sentenced former prime minister Sheikh Hasina to ten years in prison in two separate cases over alleged irregularities in the allocation of two 10-katha plots under the Purbachal New Town Project.

Judge Md Robiul Alam of Dhaka’s Special Judge Court-4 delivered the verdict on Monday (February 2) at 12:00 pm.

The court also handed down prison sentences to Sheikh Hasina’s relatives in connection with the cases: her niece Tulip Siddiq was sentenced to four years, Azmina Siddiq to seven years, and nephew Radwan Mujib Siddiq Bobby to seven years.

Each of the convicts was also fined Tk 100,000, and in default of payment, they will have to serve an additional six months of rigorous imprisonment. Other accused in the cases were sentenced to five years in jail along with a Tk 100,000 fine each.

The two cases were filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), alleging that the former prime minister abused her power to allocate two government plots, each measuring 10 kathas, to Radwan Mujib Siddiq, the son of her sister Sheikh Rehana, and her daughter Azmina Siddiq, separately.

The cases also included allegations against another daughter of Sheikh Rehana and UK Member of Parliament Tulip Rizwana Siddiq.

Additionally, former state minister for housing and public works Sharif Ahmed and Sheikh Hasina’s former private secretary Mohammad Salah Uddin were implicated during the investigation.

After a lengthy judicial process, hearings in the cases were concluded at Dhaka’s Special Judge Court-4.

ACC Public Prosecutor Zahirul Islam told Jago News that on January 13 last year, ACC Assistant Directors SM Rashedul Hasan and Afnan Jannat Keya filed two separate cases against Radwan Mujib Siddiq and Azmina Siddiq over allegations of acquiring government plots in Purbachal New Town through abuse of power and irregularities.

Sheikh Hasina, Tulip Siddiq, and a total of 16 others were named as accused in the cases. Following further investigation, two more individuals were added, bringing the total number of accused to 18, against whom charge sheets were subsequently filed in court.