DHAKA, April 11: A Bangladesh court on Thursday issued arrest warrants against 18 individuals, including former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her daughter Saima Wazed Putul, in connection with a corruption case related to land allotments under the Purbachal New Town project, according to local media reports.
The warrant was issued by Senior Special Judge of Dhaka City, Zakir Hossain, after taking cognisance of a chargesheet filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). The court has directed authorities to submit a progress report on the execution of the warrant by May 5.
In a separate case involving similar allegations of irregularities in plot allotments, a chargesheet has also been filed against 23 people. This list includes Sheikh Hasina, her sister Sheikh Rehana, and four other family members, according to Bangladesh’s leading daily Prothom Alo, which cited sources at the Dhaka court.
With these new developments, former Prime Minister Hasina now faces a total of six cases linked to alleged irregularities under the Purbachal New Town project.
Last month, a tribunal in Bangladesh had also issued an arrest warrant against Hasina and four others, including former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Benazir Ahmed, in connection with a mass killing at Shapla Chattar in Dhaka in 2013.
Earlier, in January, a special tribunal in Dhaka issued another arrest warrant for Sheikh Hasina and 11 others over incidents of enforced disappearances. These escalating legal actions are seen by many observers as part of a broader political vendetta.
Analysts believe these legal moves reflect a sustained campaign against the former Prime Minister by the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus, which assumed power following Hasina’s ouster in August 2024. Numerous cases have been filed against Hasina and her supporters shortly after her removal, many of which critics claim are based on flimsy or politically motivated grounds.
Hasina, a central figure in Bangladesh’s political landscape and a leading advocate for the restoration of democracy, was forced to flee the country on August 5, 2024. She sought refuge in India following what her supporters describe as an unjust and politically orchestrated ouster.
Addressing Awami League supporters online from India in February, the ousted leader strongly criticized the interim government. She accused the Yunus-led administration of plunging the country into lawlessness and turning it into a hub for terrorism. Hasina vowed to return to Bangladesh and assured the people that she would deliver justice and support to those who have suffered.
“Yunus has no experience of running a government,” Hasina said during her virtual address. “He dissolved all inquiry committees and unleashed the terrorists to butcher people. They are destroying Bangladesh. We will out this government of terrorists.”
Pledging to bring those responsible to justice, Hasina added, “I will return. The killers will face justice in Bangladesh. Their reckoning will happen on Bangladeshi soil. Perhaps that’s why Allah has kept me alive.”
