Dhaka: A special court in Dhaka has sentenced former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina to 10 years in prison in two corruption cases linked to irregularities in plot allocations under the Purbachal New Town project. Her niece, British MP Tulip Siddiq, was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment in one of the cases.
The verdict was delivered by Judge Md Rabiul Alam of Dhaka’s Special Judge’s Court-4. Hasina’s nephew Radwan Mujib Siddiq Bobby and niece Azmina Siddiq were each awarded seven-year jail terms in one of the two cases. Several other accused, including former senior officials, were also convicted and fined.
According to the Daily Star, the court also sentenced 11 other accused to 10 years in prison and handed down lesser sentences to several others across the two cases. The court imposed fines ranging from Tk 1 lakh to Tk 2 lakh, with additional jail terms in case of default.
Court records show that the cases were filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission over alleged abuse of power in securing residential plots in the diplomatic zone of Sector 27 of the Purbachal project. Investigators alleged that six plots were allotted illegally to Hasina and her family members despite their ineligibility under existing rules.
The anti-graft body further alleged that senior officials of Rajuk and other departments colluded in the process. Trials in the cases were completed after 15 hearings each, with testimony from 39 witnesses, including government officials and ACC personnel.
Between November 27 and December 1 last year, Hasina was sentenced to a total of 26 years’ imprisonment in four other graft cases linked to the same project. Charges in the Purbachal cases were framed in July last year against 29 accused, including members of Hasina’s immediate family.
The verdict comes amid major political upheaval in Bangladesh following a student-led movement that escalated into nationwide unrest in July 2024. On August 5 that year, Sheikh Hasina left the country and sought refuge in India. An interim government was later formed under the leadership of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, which went on to initiate multiple legal proceedings against Hasina, former cabinet colleagues, and leaders and activists linked to the Awami League.
