A Bangladeshi court has issued an arrest warrant against ousted former PM Sheikh Hasina’s niece and UK labour MP Tulip Siddiq over allegations that she received 7,200 sq ft plot of land in the South Asian country’s capital city Dhaka.
It has been alleged that she received the land when Hasina was serving as the PM of the country.
Apart from Tulip, the court issued an arrest warrant against Hasina, who was ousted from power on August 5, 2024 amid violent protests against her regime, and 51 others.
Judge Md Zakir Hossain of Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge’s Court passed the order after accepting the charges brought against them, reported The Daily Star.
The court has now accepted charges against Hasina and her family members in four out of a total of six cases filed over the plot allocation irregularities, an official of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) told the newspaper.
The ACC officials showed all the 23 ‘accused’ as fugitives. They have not secured any bail from any court in Bangladesh so far.
Report to be submitted by April 27
The judge asked officers-in-charge of several police stations in Dhaka and other parts of the country to submit progress reports on the execution of the arrest warrants by April 27.
Siddiq’s lawyers denies allegations
Meanwhile, Tulip Siddiq’s lawyers told Sky News the allegations are “completely false”, adding there was “no basis at all for any charges to be made against her”.
They said there was “absolutely no truth” behind the allegations regarding the plot of land.
Tulip Siddiq had quit as a Treasury Minister following an investigation by the Prime Minister’s ethics adviser into her suspected links to Hasina’s regime.
Siddiq told Sky News her lawyers were “ready” to handle any formal questions about allegations of corruption in Bangladesh.
In her first public comments since leaving government, Siddiq said “there’s been allegations for months on end and no one has contacted me”.
Political Change
The July uprising in Bangladesh saw thousands of students participate in the anti-job quota movement last year, which later spiralled into a massive violent demonstration against the former PM Sheikh Hasina-led government that had served the country for the longest period since the nation was formed in 1971.
Hasina fled to neighbouring India on August 5, 2025, leading to the fall of her government just months after she returned to power for another term following a massive win in the general polls, which was boycotted by the country’s main opposition party Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).Bangladesh Witnessed Political Change Last Year
The July uprising in Bangladesh saw thousands of students participate in the anti-job quota movement last year, which later spiralled into a massive violent demonstration against the former PM Sheikh Hasina-led government.
