Published : 11 Mar 2025, 03:45 PM
A Dhaka court has ordered the seizure of "Sudha Sadan", the Dhanmondi residence of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India in the face of a mass uprising last year, along with several other properties registered under her family members' names.
Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Zakir Hossain Galib issued the order on Tuesday in response to a petition filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission, or ACC.
"Sudha Sadan" was named after Hasina’s late husband MA Wazed Miah, who was affectionately known as "Sudha Miah".
A resident of an apartment opposite "Sudha Sadan" said that Hasina lived there during the military-backed caretaker government in 2007 and ran her 2008 election campaign from there.
After winning the election and assuming office as prime minister, she moved to the official state residence Gonobhaban.
For a time, Awami League offices operated from "Sudha Sadan", but the house has since remained locked and unused.
Amid widespread protests in February, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's residence on Dhanmondi Road No. 32 was vandalised and set on fire. Sudha Sadan was also set ablaze at the time, intensifying scrutiny over the properties linked to Hasina and her family.
According to ACC spokesman Akhtarul Islam, the court order applies not only to Hasina but also to her immediate family members, including her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, her daughter Saima Wazed, her younger sister Sheikh Rehana, and Rehana’s children, Tulip Siddiq and Radwan Mujib Siddiq.
The seized assets include 16 kathas of land in Dhanmondi, and 0.2640 acres of land and buildings in the Dhanmondi Residential Area, which fall under the Ministry of Housing and Public Works' layout plan.
Rehana’s properties include 9.60 decimals of land in Gazipur's Mauna registered under two deeds, and an apartment in Dhaka's Segunbagicha.
Meanwhile, Tulip's assets include a luxury apartment in Gulshan, and Radwan's property consists of a seven-storey building constructed on 0201.1 decimals of land in Niketan.
The ACC's petition argued that its ongoing investigation had revealed attempts by the accused individuals to transfer, relocate, or liquidate their immovable assets. It sought sought the seizure of these properties to prevent any illegal asset transfers and ensure the integrity of the investigation.