A Dhaka court on Sunday set May 12 for submitting the report on the execution of arrest warrants against 29 individuals, including ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina and her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, in separate cases filed over irregularities in plot allocations under the Rajuk Purbachal New Town Project.
Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Md Jakir Hossain passed the order as police failed to submit the execution report.
Earlier, on April 15, the same court issued arrest warrants against the accused in two separate cases filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) over a scam involving plot allocations in the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) Purbachal New Town Project.
On January 14, ACC Deputy Director Md Salahuddin filed one case against eight individuals, including Sheikh Hasina, for abusing power in allocating a 10-katha plot in the Purbachal New Town Project.
Investigation Officer and ACC Assistant Director Afnan Jannat Keya on March 10 filed the charge sheet against a total of 12.
Apart from Sheikh Hasina, the other 11 accused in the case are Senior Assistant Secretary of the Ministry of Housing and Public Works Purabi Goldar; Administrative Officer Md Saiful Islam; former Rajuk chairman’s personal assistant Md Anisur Rahman Miah; former Rajuk members Shafi Ul Haque, Mohammad Khurshid Alam, Mohammad Nasir Uddin, Major (retd) Samsuddin Ahmed Chowdhury; Deputy Director Nayeb Ali Sharif; secretaries Kazi Wasi Uddin and Shahid Ullah Khandaker; and former state minister Sharif Ahmed.
According to the charge sheet, Sheikh Hasina did not submit any application through the official Rajuk process. None of her applications were deemed eligible by the Rajuk review committee following necessary scrutiny.
“Her application was not even recorded in the official registrar of applicants. Even though she and her family members already owned a house, flat or housing facility within the jurisdiction of Rajuk in Dhaka city, accused Sheikh Hasina, acting with malicious intent, bypassed the relevant laws, regulations, policies and legal procedures governing the allocation of plots in the Purbachal New Town Housing Project. She managed to secure the allocation of a 10-katha plot, registered it in her name and retained possession of it,” the IO said.
The second case, filed by ACC Assistant Director SM Rashedul Hasan, also lists Sheikh Hasina and her son Joy among 17 individuals accused in connection with the same irregularities. This case too was charge-sheeted on March 10.
In the charge sheet, Joy was accused of not following the proper application process and receiving a plot despite already owning residential property in the city.
The IO claims Joy leveraged his mother’s influence to illegally acquire the plot, which was registered in his name.
