DHAKA, Bangladesh: Bangladesh on Monday told India that it wants former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled to New Delhi after being ousted in August, returned to the country for the “judicial process”, the acting head of the country’s foreign ministry said.
“We sent a note verbal (diplomatic message) to the Indian government saying that the Bangladesh government wants her (Hasina) back here for the judicial process,” Bangladesh’s Foreign Adviser Touhid Hossain told reporters in Dhaka, according to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangsta (BSS) news agency.
Hossain did not specify what the judicial process was connected to.
Hasina fled to India on August 5 following a popular uprising against her 14-year rule. More than 700 people, mostly youth, were killed during the student-led uprising.
An extradition treaty between Dhaka and New Delhi already exists, according to Home Affairs Adviser Lt. Gen. (retired) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury.
“We have a prisoner exchange agreement with India. It will be carried out under that agreement,” Chowdhury told reporters in Dhaka.
India’s foreign ministry and Hasina’s son, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, did not immediately respond to requests for comment, Reuters news agency reported.
Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has been leading a transitional government since Hasina’s ouster.
Corruption Allegations Against Sheikh Hasina
Bangladesh’s anti-corruption commission said on Monday that it has launched a probe into the alleged $5 billion embezzlement connected to a nuclear power plant by ousted leader Sheikh Hasina and her family.
Along with Hasina, the now-former prime minister who fled to India after being toppled by a revolution in August, those subject to the inquiry include her son, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, and niece, Tulip Siddiq and government minister.
The allegations were raised by a writ seeking an investigation filed in the high court by Hasina’s political opponent, Bobby Hajjaj, chairman of the Nationalist Democratic Movement party.
“We seek justice through our court”, Hajjaj told AFP on Monday.
Key allegations are connected to the funding of the $12.65 billion Rooppur nuclear plant, the South Asian country’s first.
A statement Monday from the commission said it had launched an inquiry into allegations that Hasina and family members had “embezzled $5 billion” from the Rooppur plant via “various offshore bank accounts”.
It said its investigations were examining “questionable procurement practices related to the overpriced construction” of the plant.
“The claims of kickbacks, mismanagement, money laundering, and potential abuse of power raise significant concerns about the integrity of the project and the use of public funds”, the commission said.
Graft allegations also include theft from a government building scheme for the homeless.
In a court writ submitted to the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, Ms Siddiq is named alongside her aunt, Hasina, Sky News reported.
The documents cite an online news report from August and suggest Ms Siddiq received embezzled funds that came from the artificial inflation of construction costs of the power plant.
It’s alleged that $5bn (£3.9bn) was siphoned off from the project’s budget.
Hasina, 77, fled by helicopter on August 5 into exile in India, infuriating many Bangladeshis determined that she face trial for alleged “mass murder”.
It was not possible to contact Hasina to make a comment.
Joy, who is understood to be based in the United States, was also unavailable for comment.
