A Dhaka court on Thursday adjourned till Sunday the hearing of three graft cases involving alleged irregularities in the allocation of plots in the Rajuk Purbachal New Town Project.
The cases name 53 accused, including ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, her sister Sheikh Rehana, and other members of the Sheikh family.
Judge Robiul Alam of Dhaka Special Judge Court-4 passed the adjournment order after the state sought more time.
So far, 54 prosecution witnesses have testified in the three cases under this court’s jurisdiction.
Nineteen witnesses were examined in the case against 17 accused, including Hasina and Rehana; sixteen testified in the case against 18 accused, including Hasina and her niece Azmina Siddique; and nineteen witnesses gave depositions in the case involving 18 accused, including Hasina and her nephew Radwan Mujib Siddiq.
Meanwhile, three additional cases linked to the same Purbachal plot allocation scandal are being tried separately at Dhaka Special Judge Court-5.
These cases name 47 accused, including Hasina, her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, and daughter Saima Wazed Putul.
On July 31, Judge Humayun Kabir of Court-5 framed charges and issued arrest warrants against the accused in those cases, noting they remain absconding. Court-4 also framed charges in the three cases under its docket the same day.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) had filed six cases in total between January 12 and 14 this year.
On July 1, a Dhaka court issued gazette notifications summoning 100 accused, including top members of the Sheikh family, after they failed to appear in court.
According to ACC case records, the charges involve fraudulent allotment and acquisition of government land in the upscale Purbachal project.
The accused include prominent political figures and their close family members.
The ACC submitted charge sheets in March, expanding the list of accused in several of the cases.
In one instance, a case filed against eight, including Hasina, over a 10-katha plot later expanded to 12 accused.
Other cases involve a mix of former and current officials, political associates, and family members, including Joy, Tulip Siddiq, and Putul.
