B'desh court issues arrest warrant against Sheikh Hasina, her sister Rehana, British MP Rizwana
Graft cases
Dhaka, Apr 13 (PTI): A court in Bangladesh on Sunday issued arrest warrants against ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, her sister Sheikh Rehana, British MP Tulip Rizwana Siddiq, and 50 others in connection with the alleged illegal acquisition of land by abusing political power.
Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Zakir Hossain passed the order after considering three separate chargesheets filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), the Dhaka Tribune newspaper reported.
Judge Hossain fixed April 27 to review reports on the execution of the arrest orders, the newspaper quoted ACC Assistant Director (Prosecution) Aminul Islam as saying.
Citing court sources, Bengali newspaper Prothom Alo reported that the ACC recently submitted chargesheets to the court against 53 people in three separate cases on corruption charges in plot allocation.
As all 53 accused, including Hasina, were absconding, the court issued arrest warrants against them, the paper said.
On April 10, the same court issued arrest warrants against Hasina, her daughter Saima Wazed Putul, and 17 others in a separate corruption case related to Rajuk plot allotments.
Putul has been serving as the South East Asian regional director for the World Health Organisation (WHO) based in New Delhi since November 1, 2023.
On January 13, ACC filed a case against Rehana for allegedly acquiring a 10-katha plot in the Purbachal New Town Project through abuse of authority. The case named 15 accused, including Hasina and Rehana's daughter British lawmaker Tulip Rizwana Siddiq. Rehana did not hold any official position in the past regime.
After the investigation, ACC submitted a chargesheet on March 10 against 17 individuals, adding two more names.
In a second case, ACC filed charges against Azmina Siddiq for similar irregularities in acquiring a 10-katha plot in Purbachal. This case initially listed 16 accused, including Tulip Siddiq and Sheikh Hasina. The final chargesheet, submitted on March 10, named 18 people.
The ACC filed a third case the same day against Rehana's son Radwan Mujib Siddiq, accused of obtaining a plot using political influence. Tulip Siddiq and Sheikh Hasina were among the 16 named in the initial complaint. The final chargesheet also included 18 accused.
Hasina is also accused of numerous charges like mass murders and crimes against humanity, enforced disappearances while these cases were being filed with Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal.
Hasina’s 16-year-long Awami League regime was toppled on August 5 last year in a student-led violent mass uprising. Since then, 77-year-old Hasina has been living in India.
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Heavy rain, hailstorms likely to lash Uttarakhand on Tuesday; IMD issues warning
Dehradun/Pithoragarh (PTI): The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a warning for heavy rain and hailstorms across several districts of Uttarakhand on Tuesday, as temperatures remained markedly below normal in the region.
Heavy rainfall is likely at isolated places in Dehradun, Haridwar, Tehri, Pauri, Nainital, Champawat, and Udham Singh Nagar districts. Most places across all districts are expected to receive light to moderate rain or thunderstorms, while higher reaches are likely to witness snowfall, officials said on Monday.
The weather department warned of thunderstorms accompanied by lightning, hail and intense spells of rain in six districts, including Dehradun and Nainital. Gusty winds with speeds reaching 40-50 kmph are also expected at isolated locations in these areas and other hilly districts.
In the state capital, Dehradun, the sky is forecast to remain partly cloudy with light rain and thunderstorms accompanied by gusty winds of 30-40 kmph.
The maximum and minimum temperatures in the city are expected to hover around 31 degrees Celsius and 19 degrees Celsius, respectively.
Maximum temperatures during the past 24 hours remained markedly below normal in the hills and appreciably below normal in the plains. While no significant change in temperature is expected over the next 2-3 days, the IMD predicts a rise of 3-5 degrees Celsius during the subsequent 3-4 days.
Rainfall was recorded in several areas after 8.30 am today, with Ramnagar receiving 31.5 mm and Nainital recording 26.5 mm. Other areas, including Pithoragarh, Khatima and Champawat, also reported moderate precipitation.
Authorities have stopped a batch of 36 Adi Kailash pilgrims at the Dharchula base camp and placed the high-altitude yatra route on high alert following heavy rains and hailstorms in the district on Monday.
Dharchula SDM Ashish Joshi said the pilgrimage was halted due to adverse weather conditions. The issuance of new inner-line passes has been suspended until the weather normalises.
With 1,700 passes issued so far, pilgrims already at higher camps are being monitored for safety, the official added.
