DHAKA, Bangladesh — A Dhaka court has issued arrest warrants for former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, and 27 others in two corruption cases linked to irregularities in land plot allocations in the capital’s Purbachal New Town Project.
The order was passed on Tuesday by Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Md Zakir Hossain Galib, who took cognizance of charge sheets filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). The court also set April 28 for authorities to submit a report on the arrests.
Among the accused are several current and former government officials from the Ministry of Housing and Public Works and the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK), including:
Saiful Islam Sarkar (administrative officer)
Purabi Goldar (senior assistant secretary)
Kazi Wasi Uddin (additional secretary)
Md Shahid Ullah Khandaker (secretary)
Also named are multiple former RAJUK officials such as Anichur Rahman Mia, Mohammad Khurshid Alam, Tanmoy Das, and others in development, estate, and administrative roles.
According to the ACC, the first case implicates Sheikh Hasina and 11 others in the misuse of power during her tenure to secure a prime plot in Sector-27 of the Purbachal diplomatic zone.
In the second case, 17 individuals, including Hasina and her son, are accused of illegally influencing public officials to gain plots by bypassing legal requirements. The charge sheet claims Sheikh Hasina and close family members concealed property ownership in sworn affidavits to qualify for new plots.
Authorities allege she used her influence as Prime Minister to pressure officials into granting land allocations in her favor.
This follows a series of recent legal developments. On April 10, the same court issued warrants against Hasina, her daughter Saima Wazed Putul, and 16 others. Just days later, on April 13, warrants were issued against 53 individuals, including her sister Sheikh Rehana, Rehana’s son Radwan Mujib Siddiq Bobby, and UK MP Tulip Rizwana Siddiq, in additional cases concerning 30 kathas of land in Purbachal.
The Purbachal project has now become a central focus of what could be one of the largest political and legal confrontations in recent Bangladeshi history.
The investigation remains ongoing.
