A court in Bangladesh on Thursday issued arrest orders against ex-Premier Sheikh Hasina, her daughter Saima Wajed Putul, and 17 other individuals related to a case involving alleged illegal grab of state lands.
Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Zakir Hossain Galib received a charge sheet from the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), claiming that the defendants fraudulently acquired a residential plot in the Purbachal New City Housing Project. ACC prosecutor Mir Ahammed Salam said the warrants were produced as the accused did not produce themselves before the court. The judge requested the submission of a comprehensive investigation report by May 4.
The ACC alleges Putul, present regional director for WHO South East Asia in New Delhi, dictated to her then-Prime Minister mother Hasina that she allocate the plot herself by-passing state agency RAJUK a contravention of land allotment rules. The charge sheet also accuses that Putul owned dwellings already in Dhaka, which disqualified her for a second allotment under the project.
The case was first brought on January 12, 2025, and features some government officials as co-accused. This warrant is preceded by earlier ones the International Crimes Tribunal issued against Hasina for crimes against humanity. It also comes a day after the ACC began an investigation into the suspected embezzlement of Taka 4,000 crore from the “Mujib Centenary” celebrations by Hasina, her sister Sheikh Rehana, and former principal secretary Kamal Abdul Naser Chowdhury.
Hasina, who was overthrown from power in August 2024 following a student revolt, is at present in India. New Delhi has yet to respond to the extradition request of the Bangladeshi interim government. ACC Chairman Mohammad Abdul Momen said that fugitives of all statuses would be hunted with equal vigor.
