ACC asks police HQ to issue ‘red notices’ against ex-PM Hasina, her son Joy

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has called on the Police Headquarters to issue “red notices” against ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina and her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy.

The letters were sent on Wednesday, ACC spokesman Akhtarul Islam told the media on Thursday. The investigating officers of the two plot fraud cases filed the letters.

One letter states, “During the investigation of the case, it was learnt that the accused, Sheikh Hasina, is staying abroad. In the interest of justice, the learned court has issued an arrest warrant to confirm her whereabouts and bring her back to the country to face justice.”

“Under the circumstances, it is requested that necessary action be taken by attaching the learned court’s order, arrest warrant, copy of the complaint, copy of the charge sheet and the filled-in red notice form.”

Hasina has been in India since she was deposed in a mass uprising on Aug 5, 2024. The rest of her family is also abroad.

The ACC began investigating her in December over allegations of irregularities and corruption in the allocation of six 10-katha (7,200 sq ft) plots of land in the Purbachal New Town in her name. On Jan 12, the ACC filed its first case against her daughter Saima Wazed Putul on charges of abuse of power and violation of rules in the allocation of plots. The next day, the agency filed a case against Hasina’s sister Sheikh Rehana, her son Radwan Mujib Siddiq Bobby, and daughter Azmina Siddique Ruponti.

On Jan 14, the ACC filed two cases against Hasina and her son Joy on similar charges. The ACC has named Sheikh Hasina as a suspect in all six cases. Some of the other suspects are also accused in multiple cases. In total, the number of accused in the six cases is 23.

The ACC alleged that Hasina and her family abused their power while holding the highest positions in the government. Despite being ineligible, they were each allotted plots of land in Sector 27 of the Purbachal New Town.

On Jul 31, two special judges’ courts in Dhaka framed charges against ousted prime minister and her sister, along with their children, and ordered the trial to begin in a corruption case involving six plots in the Purbachal New Town Project.