Dhaka: A Bangladeshi court on Thursday issued a fresh arrest warrant against deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, her daughter Saima Wajed Putul and 17 others in a graft case.
Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Zakir Hossain Galib on Thursday accepted the chargesheet submitted by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) which has accused Hasina and the others of procuring a residential plot through “fraudulent” means, reported PTI.
The court issued arrest warrants against the accused as they have been absconding.
According to ACC prosecutor Mir Ahammed Salam, the judge asked the statutory graft agency to submit its investigation report on May 4 for hearing the charge involving the piece of leased out land by state-run Rajdhani Unyan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) in Purbachal area, on the outskirts of the nation’s capital Dhaka.
The ACC filed the case on January 12, 2025 against Hasina and the other co-accused, mostly government officials.
Hasina fled to India on August 5, 2024 after resigning as Prime Minister following violent students’ anti-quota protests throughout Bangladesh.
The ousted PM and chief of Awami League’s stay in India has been wrapped in secrecy. According to reports, Hasina is lodged in a high-security area in a safehouse bungalow.
India has been tight-lipped on Bangladesh’s repeated appeals to extradite Hasina, who faces several cases back home.
Hasina, in recorded messages to her supporters, has said she will return to Bangladesh soon. “Allah has kept me alive for a reason,” she stated recently.
