The Dhaka Metropolitan Court has directed authorities concerned of the government to publish a gazette notification summoning British Member of Parliament Tulip Rizwana Siddiq, ex- prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s niece along with two others, in a case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) over the alleged illegal acquisition of a flat in Gulshan-2 area.
The other accused is Sardar Mosharraf Hossain, former assistant legal adviser of the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK).
The order was passed on Sunday by Dhaka Metropolitan senior special judge Md Sabbir Faiz.
Bench assistant of the concerned court Riaz Hossain said the day’s hearing was set for the submission of a police report on whether the accused had been arrested. As the police could not apprehend them, the court directed that the accused be summoned through a gazette notification. The next date for report submission has been set for March 29.
Earlier, on February 18, the same court had issued arrest warrants for the absconding accused after taking cognizance of the ACC’s charge sheet. Following a request by the ACC, the court also ordered a Red Notice for the arrest of Tulip Rizwana Siddiq on February 26.
The case relates to allegations that the accused colluded to illegally register a flat at Eastern Housing Limited in Gulshan-2 without making any payment. The ACC’s Assistant Director Monirul Islam filed the case on April 15 last year against Rizwana Siddiq, former RAJUK Assistant Legal Adviser Shah Md. Khasruzzaman, and Sardar Mosharraf Hossain.
In July last year, Shah Md Khasruzzaman filed a writ in the High Court seeking suspension of the investigation, and the court subsequently suspended his investigation for three months. Following further proceedings, the ACC submitted a charge sheet on January 13 against Tulip Rizwana Siddiq and Sardar Mosharraf Hossain under sections 161, 165(k), 467, 468, 471, and 109 of the Penal Code, as well as Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947.
It is noteworthy that Tulip Rizwana Siddiq has previously been sentenced to terms ranging from two to six years in three separate cases related to plot allocation fraud.