Purbachal plot scam
Published: 07:54 AM, 02 December 2025
Hasina gets 5-year imprisonment, Rehana 7, Tulip 2
Global media outlets’ reactions over Tulip Siddiq verdict
A Dhaka court on Monday convicted and sentenced ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to five years' imprisonment, her sister Sheikh Rehana to seven years, and Rehana's daughter Tulip Siddique, also a British MP, to two years for Purbachal plot allocation scam.
Judge Robiul Alam of the Dhaka Special Judge Court-4 pronounced the judgment. The court additionally fined all three Taka one lakh each, ordering them to serve six more months behind bars in default, reports BSS.
Earlier, the case was lodged against a total of 17 people over irregularities in the allocation of a 10-katha plot in the RAJUK Purbachal New Town Project.
The court also convicted and sentenced 14 other accused - former state minister for Housing and Public Works Sharif Ahmed; former senior assistant secretary of the Ministry of Housing and Public Works Purabi Goldar; former additional secretary Wali Ullah; former additional secretary (Administration) Kazi Wasi Uddin; administrative officer Md Saiful Islam Sarkar; former RAJUK chairman Md Anisur Rahman Miah; former RAJUK members Mohammad Nasir Uddin and Major (Retd) Shamsuddin Ahmed Chowdhury; Tanmay Das; Mohammad Khurshid Alam; Md Nurul Islam; former RAJUK assistant director Mazharul Islam; former RAJUK deputy director (Estate and Land-3) Naeb Ali Sharif; and former personal secretary-1 to the ousted prime minister Mohammad Salahuddin - to five years' imprisonment each.
They were also fined Taka one lakh each, with six months' additional imprisonment in default.
Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Deputy Director Md Salahuddin filed the case on January 13, 2025, against 15 people, including Sheikh Hasina, Sheikh Rehana and Tulip Siddique. The investigation officer and ACC Assistant Director Afnan Jannat Keya submitted a charge sheet against 17 accused on March 10.
Dhaka Special Judge Court-4 framed charges in this case along with two others on July 31, while Dhaka Special Judge Court-5 on the same day framed charges in three other identical cases.
Earlier on November 27, Dhaka Special Judge Court-5 convicted and sentenced Sheikh Hasina to 21 years' imprisonment in three identical cases. It also sentenced her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy and daughter Saima Wazed Putul to five years' imprisonment each in the respective cases filed against them over plot allocations.
The court had found 22 out of the total 23 accused guilty in those three cases and sentenced them to varying jail terms.
Meanwhile, media outlets operating from different foreign countries have expressed mixed reactions over the verdict which was handed down to former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's niece Tulip Siddiq in absentia over which sentenced her to two years in prison over corruption charges. The Guardian has reported that Tulip Siddiq has declined the verdict instantly and she termed the judicial process "flawed and farcical".
Tulip Siddiq is Labour Party MP for Hampstead and Highgate in England. A Dhaka court found Tulip Siddiq guilty of connivance with her aunt Sheikh Hasina in abusing power and persuading wrong distribution of land properties to her immediate family members. However, Tulip Siddiq has all along denied these allegations.
BBC has reported that Tulip Siddiq responded to the above verdict in the following words "I feel like I'm in some sort of Kafkaesque nightmare," she stated.
Tulip Siddiq added that "The only reason I know I'm being convicted is because I read it in the newspapers. So this is trial by media, which is deeply unfair."
Since Sheikh Hasina's regime was overturned, prosecutors in Bangladesh have launched a number of wide-ranging legal cases against the former leader, her past associates and family members.
On the other hand, CNN has reported that Tulip Siddiq condemned the Dhaka court's verdict using these terms "The outcome of this kangaroo court is as predictable as it is unjustified," she said in a statement. "My focus has always been my constituents in Hampstead and Highgate and I refuse to be distracted by the dirty politics of Bangladesh" Tulip Siddiq added.
"The allegations against Sheikh Hasina, her sister, and many others including members of her immediate and wider family are firmly denied," a party statement from Bangladesh Awami League sent to The Associated Press (AP) said. "The process fails to pass any reasonable test of judicial fairness - a point that has been made forcefully by both local and international legal experts."
>>Agencies
