A court in Dhaka has delivered a significant verdict in a high-profile corruption case linked to the Purbachal New Town Project, imposing fines on multiple convicts and ordering the cancellation of an illegally allotted plot. This development adds another layer to the legal troubles facing former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her family, with Bangladesh's interim government now formally seeking her extradition from India.
Court Imposes Fines and Cancels Allotment
According to the state-run BSS news agency, the court found 17 individuals guilty in the case. Each convict was fined Tk 1 lakh, with a stipulation of an additional six months of imprisonment if the fine remains unpaid. In a related order, the court also directed the cancellation of a residential plot that had been allotted to Hasina's sister, Rehana.
Furthermore, the court imposed a financial penalty of $813 each on Sheikh Hasina, her sister Rehana, and her niece Tulip Siddiq. This verdict stems from cases filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) between January 12 and 14, 2025. The ACC alleged that Hasina, in collusion with senior officials of Rajuk (the capital's development authority), illegally secured six plots in the prestigious diplomatic zone of Sector 27.
Each plot measured 10 kathas, or 7,200 square feet. The beneficiaries were said to be Hasina herself, her children Sajeeb Wazed Joy and Saima Wazed Putul, her sister Rehana, niece Tulip Siddiq, and other relatives, despite them being ineligible under the project's regulations. Charges were formally framed against 29 people, including Joy and Putul.
A Cascade of Legal Troubles and Political Fallout
This is not an isolated judgment. Earlier in the same month, a separate Dhaka court sentenced Sheikh Hasina to a total of 21 years in prison across three corruption cases related to the same Purbachal project. The sentence comprised consecutive seven-year terms for each case, along with fines of Tk 1 lakh per case. Her children, Joy and Putul, were also sentenced to five years each in related cases.
The legal actions follow major political upheaval in Bangladesh. Mass protests toppled Hasina's Awami League government on August 5, 2024. After her rule ended, she sought and obtained refuge in India. A Bangladeshi court had previously declared her a fugitive. In a separate and more severe case, she was sentenced to death in absentia in November 2024 for her role in the violent crackdown on the student-led "July Uprising" protests.
Tulip Siddiq, a British MP for Hampstead and Highgate, has consistently denied all allegations. She labeled the trial a "farce built on 'fabricated accusations and driven by a clear political vendetta'." In January 2025, she resigned from her position as economic secretary to the Treasury in Prime Minister Keir Starmer's UK Cabinet. While asserting she had been cleared of wrongdoing, she stated she stepped down to prevent the issue from becoming "a distraction from the work of the government."
Bangladesh Formally Requests Extradition from India
With this latest verdict, the judicial proceedings against Sheikh Hasina in this specific case are complete. This has prompted the current interim government of Bangladesh to take diplomatic action. Bangladesh's Foreign Affairs Adviser, Mohammad Touhid Hossain, stated that the government expects India to consider Hasina's extradition "at the earliest possible time."
Bangladesh is currently administered by an interim government headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus. This government has announced that the next parliamentary elections in the country are scheduled to be held in February. The extradition request places the ball in India's court, testing diplomatic ties and legal protocols between the two neighbouring nations.
The series of convictions and the formal extradition request mark a critical juncture in Bangladesh's political and legal landscape, closing one chapter of judicial process while potentially opening a complex diplomatic one with India.
