Dhaka: Five more prosecution witnesses today testified in three ongoing cases involving 53 individuals, including ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her sister Sheikh Rehana, concerning alleged irregularities in the allocation of plots in the RAJUK Purbachal New Town Project. The testimonies were given by Delwar Hossain and Shafiqul Islam, office assistants of the Ministry of Housing and Public Works; Mohammad Lutfor Rahman, tax inspector of the National Board of Revenue (NBR); Rezaul Haq, stenographer and computer operator; and Abu Taher, notice server.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the witnesses submitted their depositions at Dhaka Special Judge Court-4, which led Judge Robiul Islam to adjourn the hearing until September 21. Earlier, three officials from the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) had testified on August 28, including ACC Deputy Director Mahbubar Rahman and Assistant Directors Ashim Shil and Ullash Chowdhury.
On August 13, ACC Deputy Director Salahuddin, along with Assistant Directors Afnan Jannat Keya and SM Rashedul Hasan, submitted statements against Sheikh Hasina, Sheikh Rehana, Tulip Siddiq, Radwan Mujib Siddiq, Azmina Siddiq, and others. The same officials had testified on August 11 in three other related cases against 47 people, including Sheikh Hasina, her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, and her daughter Saima Wazed Putul, before Dhaka Special Judge Court-5.
Seven seizure-list witnesses also testified in those cases on August 26, with Judge Mohammad Abdullah Al Mamun of Dhaka Special Judge Court-5 adjourning the hearings until September 2. On July 31, charges were framed in the three cases by both Dhaka Special Judge Court-4 and Court-5, with arrest warrants issued for the absconding accused.
On July 20, Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Zakir Hossain Galib forwarded the cases to trial courts after repeated no-shows by the accused. A gazette notification summoning 100 accused individuals, including Sheikh Hasina, Sheikh Rehana, and Sajeeb Wazed Joy, was issued on July 1.
The ACC initiated the six cases between January 12 and 14 this year, with charge sheets submitted on March 10. According to the case details, ACC Deputy Director Md Salahuddin lodged a case on January 14 against eight people, including Sheikh Hasina, over a 10-katha Purbachal plot, later expanding the charge sheet to 12 individuals.
On the same day, ACC Assistant Director SM Rashedul Hasan filed another case against 15 individuals, including Hasina and Joy, with a charge sheet naming 17. Salahuddin also filed two more cases on January 13 against 15 people, including Hasina, Rehana, and Tulip Siddiq, with charge sheets naming 17 and 18 people respectively.
Additionally, another case was filed against Radwan Mujib and 15 others, later charge-sheeted against 18 individuals. On January 12, ACC Assistant Director Afnan Jannat Keya filed a case against 16 people, including Hasina and Saima Wazed Putul, with the charge sheet naming 18.