Dhaka, Mar 9 (V7N) — A Dhaka court has ordered the publication of a newspaper notice directing Tulip Rizwana Siddiq, niece of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and daughter of Sheikh Rehana, to appear before the court in a corruption case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) over the alleged illegal acquisition of a flat in the Gulshan-2 area of the capital.
 
Another accused in the case is Sardar Mosharraf Hossain, a former assistant legal adviser of the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK).
 
The order was issued on Sunday (March 8) by Md. Sabbir Fayez, judge of the Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge and Senior Special Judge’s Court.
 
Confirming the matter, court bench assistant Riaz Hossain said the day had been scheduled for submitting a report regarding the execution of arrest warrants issued against the accused. However, the concerned police station informed the court that the accused could not be located. In response, the court ordered the publication of a public notice in newspapers and fixed March 29 for the next hearing.
 
Earlier, on February 18, the court accepted the charge sheet against Tulip Siddiq and another accused, took cognizance of the charges, and issued arrest warrants against them. Following a petition by the ACC, the court also ordered steps to issue an Interpol Red Notice against Siddiq.
 
The ACC filed the case on April 15 last year, accusing Siddiq, former RAJUK assistant legal adviser Shah Md. Khasruzzaman, and former Assistant Legal Adviser-1 Sardar Mosharraf Hossain of illegally acquiring a flat owned by Eastern Housing Limited in Gulshan-2.
 
According to the allegations, the accused colluded with one another and abused their authority to take possession of the apartment without making any payment and later completed its registration.
 
In July this year, accused Shah Khasruzzaman filed a writ petition with the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh challenging the investigation. The High Court subsequently stayed the investigation against him for three months. As the stay order has been upheld by the Appellate Division, the investigation against him remains suspended.
 
Following the completion of the probe on December 11, the ACC submitted a charge sheet against Tulip Rizwana Siddiq and Sardar Mosharraf Hossain.
 
Meanwhile, in a separate corruption case related to the allocation of three plots to her mother and siblings, another special judge’s court in Dhaka has already sentenced Tulip Siddiq to two years’ imprisonment in each case, totaling six years.
 
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