Staff Correspondent:

A court here on Tuesday ordered the publication of a gazette notification summoning ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and 11 others over the alleged illegal allocation of a 10-katha government plot in the Purbachal New Town Project.

Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Zakir Hossain Galib passed the order and set July 1 for submitting a report on the matter.

Confirming the issue, Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Prosecutor Mir Ahmed Ali Salam said that hearings were scheduled on Tuesday for six cases related to the plot allocation scam.

“In five of these cases, police failed to submit reports on the arrest of the accused. In the remaining case, a report stated that Sheikh Hasina and 11 others were absconding. We requested the court to publish a gazette notification to summon the accused. The court granted our petition and directed the publication of the notification through the Bangladesh Government Press (BG Press),” the prosecutor said.

The court also adjourned the hearings of the six cases till July 1.

According to the ACC, the case was filed on January 14, 2025, by ACC Deputy Director Salahuddin, accusing the former premier and seven others of misusing power to secure a 10-katha plot in the Purbachal project.

Following investigation, ACC Assistant Director Afnan Jannat Keya submitted a charge sheet on March 10, adding four more accused, bringing the total to 12.

The accused are– Sheikh Hasina, former Senior Assistant Secretary of the Ministry of Housing and Public Works Purobi Goldar, former personal assistant to the then RAJUK Chairman Md Anisur Rahman Miah, its deputy director Nayeb Ali Sharif, former RAJUK members Shafiul Haque, Khurshid Alam, Md Nasir Uddin and Major (Retd) Shamsuddin Ahmed Chowdhury, former State Minister for Housing and Public Works Sharif Ahmed, its Secretaries Kazi Wasi Uddin and Shahid Ullah Khandaker and administrative officer of the Ministry of Housing and Public Works Md Saiful Islam Sarkar.