A court has sentenced three high-profile individuals in a corruption case involving the allocation of plots by RAJUK in the Purbachal New City project. Judge Md. Rabiul Alam of Dhaka’s Special Judge’s Court-4 announced the verdict on Monday.
The verdict sentenced Sheikh Rehana to 7 years in prison, her sister and ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to 5 years, and British MP Tulip Siddique to 2 years. Tulip and Rehana were each fined Tk 1 lakh; in default of payment, they will have to serve additional prison time. The remaining 14 accused in the case were also sentenced to 5 years in prison each.
The case was about allegations of influence peddling and irregularities in the allocation of plots by RAJUK in the Purbachal project. According to the court’s ruling, there was evidence of significant lack of transparency and abuse of power in the allocation process—which further raises questions about accountability in state development projects.