Legal proceedings
\nBangladesh\u2019s interim head, demands India send Hasina back for trial over alleged crimes against protesters
\n Dhaka
\nBangladesh has told neighbor India that it wants former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled to New Delhi in August, back in the country for \u201cjudicial process\u201d, the acting head of the country\u2019s foreign ministry said on Monday.
\nTies between the South Asian neighbours, who have strong trade and cultural links, have become fraught since Hasina was ousted following violent protests against her rule and she took refuge across the border.
\nDhaka\u2019s request to New Delhi on Monday came two weeks after India\u2019s foreign secretary visited Bangladesh and the two countries said they hoped to clear the cloud and pursue constructive relations.
\n\u201cWe sent a note verbale to the Indian government saying that the Bangladesh government wants her (Hasina) back here for judicial process,\u201d Touhid Hossain told reporters, referring to diplomatic correspondence between the two countries.
\nHossain did not elaborate on the judicial process.
\nIndia\u2019s foreign ministry and Hasina\u2019s son, Sajeeb Wazed, did not immediately respond to requests seeking comment.
\nThe head of Bangladesh\u2019s interim government, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, has demanded that India send Hasina back so that Bangladesh can try her for what it says are crimes against protestors and her opponents, and crimes she is accused of committing during her tenure over the past 15 years.
\nYunus has also been upset with Hasina for criticizing his administration from New Delhi.
\nHasina faces numerous charges, including crimes against humanity, genocide, and murder, among others. She denies the charges.
\nIndian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri visited Dhaka this month and reiterated India\u2019s commitment to pursuing a constructive relationship with Dhaka.
\nNew Delhi has said that Hasina came to India at a short notice for \u201csafety reasons\u201d and continues to remain here, without elaborating.
\nBangladesh has launched a probe into the alleged $5 billion embezzlement connected to a Russian-backed nuclear power plant by ousted leader Sheikh Hasina and her family, the anti-corruption commission said Monday.
\nAlong with Hasina, the now-former prime minster 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, a British lawmaker and government minister.
\nThe allegations were raised by a writ seeking an investigation filed in the high court by Hasina\u2019s political opponent, Bobby Hajjaj, chairman of the Nationalist Democratic Movement party.
\n\u201cWe seek justice through our court\u201d, Hajjaj told AFP on Monday.
\nBangladesh\u2019s Yunus urges unity to counter \u2018Indian aggression\u2019
\nKey allegations are connected to the funding of the $12.65 billion Rooppur nuclear plant, the South Asian country\u2019s first, which is bankrolled by Moscow with a 90 percent loan.
\nA statement Monday from the commission said it had launched an inquiry into allegations that Hasina and family members had \u201cembezzled $5 billion\u201d from the Rooppur plant via \u201cvarious offshore bank accounts in Malaysia\u201d.
\nIt said its investigations were examining \u201cquestionable procurement practices related to the overpriced construction\u201d of the plant.
\n\u201cThe 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\u201d, the commission said.
\nGraft allegations also include theft from a government building scheme for the homeless.
\nHasina, 77, fled by helicopter on August 5 into exile in India, infuriating many Bangladeshis determined that she face trial for alleged \u201cmass murder\u201d.
\nIt was not possible to contact Hasina for comment.
\nSiddiq has \u201cdenied any involvement in the claims\u201d accusing her of involvement in embezzlement, according to a statement from the British prime minister\u2019s office.
\nJoy, who is understood to be based in the United States, was also unavailable for comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Legal proceedings Bangladesh\u2019s interim head, demands India send Hasina back for trial over alleged crimes against protesters Dhaka Bangladesh has told neighbor India that it wants former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled to New Delhi in August, back in the country for \u201cjudicial process\u201d, the acting head of the country\u2019s foreign ministry said on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":451315,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-451285","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n