Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Sentenced to 10 Years in Jail in Separate Corruption Cases

Dhaka. A court in Bangladesh has sentenced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to 10 years in jail in two separate corruption cases. These cases are related to irregularities in land allocation for a government housing project.

Judge Rabiul Alam of the Special Judge Court-4 in Dhaka delivered this verdict on Monday. The court sentenced Sheikh Hasina to five years in jail in each of the two cases.

These cases are connected to the ongoing Rajuk New Town Project in the Purbachal area near the capital, Dhaka. It is alleged that two plots of 10 katha each were allocated irregularly there.

The prosecution stated that the accused misused their positions and manipulated the land allocation process by violating regulations. This project falls under the Capital Development Authority (Rajuk).

Besides Hasina, several members of her family were also convicted in these cases. In this sequence, Tulip Siddique was sentenced to a total of four years in jail. Similarly, Radwan Mujib Siddique and Azmina Siddique were each sentenced to seven years.

Rajuk member Mohammad Khurshid Alam, who surrendered to the court, was sentenced to two years in jail. All the accused have been ordered to pay a fine of one lakh Taka. Failure to pay the fine will result in an additional 6 months of imprisonment.

Hasina fled Bangladesh to India on August 5 last year after student protests against the reservation quota set for government jobs became intense.

Previously, the court had declared her a fugitive. Both cases were filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission of Bangladesh. The commission stated that there was an abuse of power and a violation of established rules in the land allocation.