BY A P Abritty :

A court here today convicted and sentenced ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to seven-year and her daughter Saima Wazed Putul to five-year imprisonment each in a case lodged over alleged irregularities in allocating a 10-katha plot in Rajuk New Town Project in Purbachol.

Judge Mohammad Abdullah Al Mamun of Dhaka Special Judge Court-5 pronounced the judgment in absence of the convicts as they are yet to be arrested and were tried in absentia.

Earlier, Dhaka Special Judge Court-5 on November 23 fixed today for delivering the judgment, after both the prosecution and defence completed their arguments on that day.

On January 12, 2025, Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Assistant Director Afnan Jannat Keya filed the case against 16 people, including Sheikh Hasina and Saima Wazed Putul. Keya later filed the charge sheet in the case against 18 accused.

The court on July 31, 2025, framed charges in this case and issued arrest warrants for the accused.