Purbachal plot graft chargesheet against Hasina, family set for hearing on Thursday

The hearing of the chargesheet in the corruption case involving former premier Sheikh Hasina and members of her family is scheduled to begin at the Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judges' Court from Thursday.

The case centres on allegations of irregularities and abuse of power in the allocation of government land in the Purbachal New Town project overseen by RAJUK.

The proceedings will mark the formal start of hearings in six separate cases tied to the allocation of six 60-katha plots in the Purbachal area, as per a bdnews24.com report.

The cases will be heard in three phases, starting 15 days after the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) submitted its chargesheets.

An official from the ACC, speaking to bdnews24.com, confirmed the court schedule.

Should the court accept the chargesheets following these preliminary hearings, it will move ahead with framing charges, thereby officially commencing the trial process.

The ACC submitted the chargesheets on Mar 24 in connection with the six land allocation cases.

All six were filed at the Senior Special Judges' Court in Dhaka.

Among the accused are seven members of Hasina’s family, including the former prime minister herself, her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, and daughter Saima Wazed, also known as Putul.

Other family members named in the charges include Hasina’s sister Sheikh Rehana, her niece and British MP Tulip Siddiq, Azmina Siddique Ruponti, and Radwan Mujib Siddiq, a nephew.

Sixteen officials from RAJUK and the Ministry of Housing and Public Works have also been accused in connection with the alleged corruption.

Their names appear across the six individual cases.

According to the court schedule, one chargesheet is expected to be heard on Apr 10, with three more hearings to follow on Apr 13, and the remaining two on Apr 15.

Akhtarul Islam, the ACC’s deputy director and public relations officer, told bdnews24.com that hearings are a prerequisite for determining the admissibility of the chargesheets.

“Once the chargesheet is submitted to the court, a hearing is held to determine whether the chargesheet will be accepted by the court or not,” he said.

“If the chargesheet is accepted, the court will take further necessary action.”

The case involving Hasina and Saima is one of the first on the docket.

It will be taken up on Apr 10, and includes a total of 16 accused.

Two additional cases will be brought before the court on Apr 13.

In one of them, Hasina, Rehana, and Tulip are among the 15 individuals listed as accused.

In another case, Radwan, Tulip, Hasina and 16 others have been named as accused.

The court is also scheduled to hear another chargesheet on the same day in a case involving Azmina, Tulip and Hasina.

That case includes a total of 16 accused individuals.

One additional chargesheet, filed against Hasina and eight others, is set to be heard by the court on Apr 15.

The same day, the court will consider the chargesheet in another case where the accused include Hasina, Joy and 15 others.

Md Akhtar Hossain, director general of the ACC, had informed about the filing of chargesheets against Hasina and members of her family in the Purbachal plot allocation scandal.

Earlier, on Mar 10, the ACC formally approved the chargesheets in six cases.

A total of 23 people, including seven members of Hasina’s family, were named as accused.