Why one 60-katha plot triggered 6 ACC cases against Sheikh family?
The ACC stated that the 60-katha plot had been unlawfully divided into six registrations, necessitating separate cases to reflect the role of each alleged beneficiary and collaborator
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) initiated an inquiry on 26 December last year into allegations of irregularities and corruption regarding the allocation of a 60-katha plot in the Purbachal New Town Project to members of the Sheikh family.
The investigation commenced following the removal of Sheikh Hasina from office on 5 August amid a mass uprising, after which she left the country.
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Upon completion of the inquiry, the ACC filed six separate cases in January. Each case pertained to the allocation of 10 kathas of land, as the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) had issued six individual deeds. One of these plots — 10 kathas — was registered in Sheikh Hasina's name.
Across the six cases, the ACC named multiple defendants: Sheikh Hasina with 12 others in one case; Sajeeb Wazed Joy with 17 in another; Saima Wazed Putul with 18 in a third; and in the remaining cases Sheikh Rehana, Tulip Siddiq, Azmina Siddiq Ruponty, and Radwan Mujib Siddiq Bobby, each including Sheikh Hasina as a co-accused.
Today (1 December), a Dhaka court delivered a verdict in one of the cases involving the ousted prime minister's family.
Sheikh Hasina, her sister Sheikh Rehana, and Rehana's daughter, Tulip Siddiq, were all found guilty of corruption linked to the plot allocation. Sheikh Rehana, on whose behalf the 10-katha plot had been registered, was sentenced to seven years in prison, Sheikh Hasina to five years, and Tulip Siddiq to two years.
The ruling was handed down by Judge Rabiul Alam of the Fourth Special Judge's Court in Dhaka.
Unlawful division leads to multiple cases
The ACC stated that the 60-katha plot had been unlawfully divided into six registrations, necessitating separate cases to reflect the role of each alleged beneficiary and collaborator.
Had the plot been registered under a single deed, only one case would have been necessary. They further noted that joint trials might have resulted in lighter sentences, posing a significant loss to the state and creating a harmful precedent.
In three other Purbachal plot corruption cases, a Dhaka court last Thursday sentenced Sheikh Hasina to a total of 21 years' rigorous imprisonment, while her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy and daughter Saima Wazed Putul each received 5 years.
Two additional Purbachal-related cases remain at the witness-hearing stage, in which Sheikh Hasina and Tulip Siddiq stand accused alongside Tulip's brother Radwan Mujib Siddiq Bobby and Azmina Siddiq Ruponty.
According to the charges, Sheikh Rehana obtained her 10-katha plot by concealing existing residential property ownership in Dhaka, in violation of allocation rules. Sheikh Hasina is accused of abusing her authority to facilitate the allocation, while Tulip Siddiq allegedly influenced her aunt in favour of her mother's application.
During the previous administration, Rajuk had allocated six 10-katha plots in Sector 27 of Purbachal's diplomatic zone, around Road 203, to Sheikh Hasina, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, Saima Wazed Putul, Sheikh Rehana, Radwan Mujib Siddiq Bobby, and Azmina Siddiq Ruponty.
The plot numbers were as follows: Sheikh Rehana, 13; Bobby, 11; Ruponty, 19; Sheikh Hasina, 9; Joy, 15; and Putul, 17.
