The others sentenced in the Purbachal plot graft cases against Hasina, her children

Eighteen other people have received jail sentences alongside ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, and her daughter Saima Wazed Putul in three cases over corruption in the allocation of plots in Dhaka’s Purbachal New Town Project.

Saiful Islam Sarkar, an administrative official from the Ministry of Housing and Public Works, has been acquitted as the charges against him were not proven.

Dhaka Special Judge Mohammad Abdullah Al Mamun delivered the verdicts in the three cases filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on Thursday.

Hasina was sentenced to seven years in prison in three cases, for a total of 21 years in prison.

Her son and daughter were sentenced to five years in prison each in two separate cases.

In addition to the prison sentences, Hasina has been fined Tk 300,000, while Joy and Putul have been fined Tk 100,000 each. Hasina will receive another 6-18 months in prison if she does not pay, while Joy and Putul will get another six months each.

The three have been convicted of “hiding information on” houses, flats, or housing facilities in Dhaka city to illegally obtain three 10-katha plots of land in the project through the exploitation of state power.

These plots are located around Road No. 203 of the Diplomatic Zone of Sector No. 27 of Purbachal.

The former prime minister’s private secretary Mohammad Salah Uddin has been sentenced to six years in prison each in two cases, totalling 12 years in jail. He has been fined Tk 100,000 in two cases each for a total of Tk 200,000. If he fails to pay, he will receive six additional months in prison in each case for a total of an extra year in jail.

Former state minister for housing and public works Sharif Ahmed has been sentenced to six years in prison each in three cases, totalling 18 years in jail. He has been fined Tk 100,000 in three cases each for a total of Tk 300,000. If he fails to pay, he will receive six additional months in prison in each case for a total of an extra year and a half in jail.

Former secretaries of the Ministry of Housing and Public Works Shahid Ullah Khandaker and Kazi Wasi Uddin have also received the same sentences.

Former senior assistant secretary of the Ministry of Housing Purabi Golder has been sentenced to one year in prison in each of three cases, for a total of three years in prison. He was fined Tk 5,000, Tk 10,000, and Tk 5,000 in the three cases for a total of Tk 20,000. If he fails to pay, he will have to serve an additional one month in each case, for a total of three months in prison.

Former chairman of RAJUK Anisur Rahman Miah has been sentenced to five years in prison each in three cases, for a total of 15 years in jail. He has also been fined Tk 50,000 in each case for a total of Tk 150,000. If he fails to pay, he will have an additional three months in jail in each case for a total of nine extra months.

Former RAJUK member (planning) Mohammad Nasir Uddin has been sentenced to three years in prison each in three cases for a total of nine years in jail. He was also fined Tk 20,000 in each of the cases for a total of Tk 60,000. He will have to serve an additional two months in prison in each case if he fails to pay for a total of six additional months in prison.

Another former member of RAJUK, retired Major Engineer Shamsuddin Ahmed Chowdhury, has also been given the same sentence.

Former RAJUK member (administration and finance) Kabir Al Asad has been sentenced to three years of prison in one case. He will have to serve two more months in prison if he fails to pay a fine of Tk 20,000.

Former RAJUK member (development and control) Tanmoy Das has been sentenced to three years in prison each in two cases, for a total of six years in prison. He was fined Tk 20,000 each in the two cases for a total of Tk 40,000. If he fails to pay, he will have to serve two additional months in prison for each case, for a total of four months.

Former RAJUK member (estate and land) Nurul Islam has also been given the same sentence in two cases.

Former RAJUK director (estate and land-2) Sheikh Shahinul Islam has been sentenced to three years of prison in one case. He will have to serve two more months in prison if he also fails to pay a fine of Tk 20,000.

Former RAJUK director (estate and land-2) Kamrul Islam has also been given the same sentence in one case.

Former RAJUK assistant director (estate and land-3) Hafizur Rahman was sentenced to one year of jail in one case. He will have to serve another month in prison if he fails to pay a fine of Tk 5,000.

Former RAJUK assistant director (estate and land-3) Habibur Rahman Sabuj and Mazharul Islam have also been given the same sentence in one case each.

Former RAJUK assistant director (estate and land-3) Nayeb Ali Sharif has been given one year in prison each in two cases for a total of two years in jail. He was fined Tk 5,000 in each case and will have to spend a month in prison if he fails to pay each fine, for a total of two additional months in prison.

Former RAJUK member (estate and land) Mohammad Khurshid Alam was sentenced to a year in prison in each of the three cases for a total of three years in prison. He was also fined Tk 5,000 in each case for a total of Tk 15,000. If he fails to pay, he will have to serve an additional month in jail for a total of three extra months in all three cases.

Among the accused, Khurshid is the only one who was in jail during the trial. He was produced in court to hear the verdict. After the verdict, he was sent to prison after a sentence warrant. The judge said that he would be given a lighter sentence because he had surrendered before the court.

Since the other accused are absconding, the court has issued arrest warrants along with sentence warrants against them.

Following the verdict announcement on Thursday, ACC Counsel Khan Md Mainul Hasan Lipon said: “We expected the maximum sentence, but it did not happen. Our next steps will be taken after discussions with the commission.”

However, Khurshid’s lawyer Shahinur Islam declined to comment on the matter.

In January, the ACC filed six separate cases over the allocation of 60 katha of plots in the Purbachal New Town project, naming Hasina, Sajeeb, Saima, her sister Sheikh Rehana, and her nieces and nephew Tulip Siddiq, Azmina Siddique Ruponti, and Radwan Mujib Siddiq Bobby.

Three cases involving Hasina’s immediate family are being tried together, while Rehana’s family faces another set of three cases concurrently.

On Jul 31, the court framed charges against 23 individuals across these cases. The verdict date was set after closing arguments for Hasina’s family on Nov 23, while Rehana’s family’s hearing concluded on Nov 25 with a Dec 1 verdict scheduled.

On Nov 17, Hasina was sentenced to death by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) for crimes against humanity in suppressing the July Uprising 2024.

This time, she has been sentenced to prison in a corruption case.