Bangladesh: Corruption trial begins against Sheikh Hasina, her nieces in housing plot scam

Dhaka: The corruption trial against ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina and 17 others, including her nieces Azmina Siddiq and British MP Tulip Siddiq, in a housing plot scam started on Wednesday at a Dhaka court with depositions of the complainant, media reports said.

Afnan Jannat Keya, a complainant who is an assistant director of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), testified before Judge Md Rabiul Alam of the Special Judge's Court-4 in Dhaka in the afternoon, The Daily Star newspaper reported.

Earlier, ACC Deputy Director Md Salahuddin, also the complainant of another graft case, gave his statement before Judge Alam in another case filed against 17 people, including Hasina, Sheikh Rehana and Tulip.  London-based Siddiq, who represents the UK capital's Hampstead and Highgate constituency for the governing Labour Party, resigned as Treasury minister earlier this year after allegations of corruption against her family following the ACC's investigations.

The 42-year-old politician, who has consistently denied allegations of wrongdoing, has accused the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government in Dhaka of an orchestrated “smear campaign” to damage her reputation.

On August 11, recording of statements started in three other cases over alleged corruption in plot allocation, involving Hasina, her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, and daughter Saima Wazed Putul, Bangla language daily Prothom Alo reported.

The anti-graft body filed six cases between January 12 and 14 against Hasina, members of her family, and 23 others over alleged irregularities in the allocation of plots under the Purbachal New Town project.

Tulip has been accused of using her special power to get plots for Rehana, Bobby and Azmina.

On March 25, the ACC filed six charge sheets of the cases with the Metropolitan Senior Special Judge's Court in Dhaka, where Hasina was named as a common accused in all six cases. The commission has listed all the accused as fugitives.

On July 31, charges were framed against 29 people, including Hasina, Rehana, Joy, Putul, Bobby, Tulip and Azmina, in their respective cases.

Hasina, 77, faces multiple cases in Bangladesh after being ousted on August 5 last year following a mass student-led agitation in the country, which forced her to flee Dhaka.