Hearing of corruption case against Tulip Siddique postponed to January

The hearing on framing of charges against Tulip Rizwana Siddique, niece of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and daughter of Sheikh Rehana, and two others in the case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) for illegally acquiring a flat in the capital's Gulshan-2 area, has been postponed again. The court has fixed the hearing date for January 11 next year.

On Tuesday (September 1), Judge Mohammad Abdullah Al Mamun of Dhaka's Special Judge's Court-5 set the new date.

The other accused in the case is Sardar Mosharraf Hossain, former assistant legal advisor of RAJUK.

Why was the hearing postponed

The hearing on framing of charges in the case was scheduled for Tuesday. However, the accused Sardar Mosharraf Hossain, who is on bail, applied to the court to postpone the hearing.

The court granted his application and set a new date for the hearing on January 11. ACC Public Prosecutor (PP) Mir Ahmed Ali Salam confirmed the matter.

Earlier, four dates were set for hearings on the framing of charges in the same case. The hearings were not held on the scheduled dates for various reasons.

Arrest warrant against Tulip

On February 18, the court accepted the chargesheet filed against Tulip Siddique and two others. At the same time, an arrest warrant was issued against Tulip taking into account the charges brought against them.

Later, following the ACC's application, the court ordered the issuance of a red notice through Interpol against Tulip Siddique.

The allegation about the Gulshan flat

According to the ACC's case, a flat of Eastern Housing Limited in the capital's Gulshan-2 area was illegally occupied without paying any money through abuse of power and collusion. It is alleged in the case that it was later registered.

In this incident, on April 15 last year, Tulip Rizwana Siddique, former assistant legal advisor of RAJUK Shah Md. The ACC filed a case against Khasruzzaman and former Assistant Legal Advisor-1 Sardar Mosharraf Hossain.

Later, on December 11, after completing the investigation, the agency submitted a charge sheet to the court against Tulip Rizwana Siddique and Sardar Mosharraf Hossain.

Investigation against Khasruzzaman suspended

Amid the investigation of the case, the accused Shah Md. Khasruzzaman filed a writ petition in the High Court in July this year.

In view of that writ, the High Court suspended the ongoing investigation against him for three months. Later, as the stay order was also upheld in the Appellate Division, the investigation against Khasruzzaman is suspended.

More cases against Tulip

Meanwhile, a separate special judge's court in Dhaka has already sentenced Tulip Siddique to two years in prison in each case, for a total of six years.

The hearing on the framing of charges in the case related to the flats in the Gulshan-2 area has not yet been completed. The next hearing on the matter is scheduled to be held in court on January 11.