Dhaka Court Issues Travel Ban on 14 Ex-Awami League Ministers Amid Corruption Probe

A Dhaka court has imposed a travel ban on 14 former Awami League ministers and lawmakers amid corruption allegations. This follows the resignation of ex-prime minister Sheikh Hasina. The Anti-Corruption Commission is investigating claims of illegal wealth accumulation. Amid protests, over 1,000 people have died, and 400 lost sight.

A Dhaka court on Thursday issued a travel ban on 14 former Awami League ministers and lawmakers in connection with corruption allegations brought against them by the interim government in Bangladesh, according to a media report. The development comes after former prime minister Sheikh Hasina of the Awami League resigned and fled to India on August 5 following a mass movement against her government. An interim government replaced her regime, with 84-year-old Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus named its Chief Adviser, a position equivalent to prime minister.

The Daily Star reported that the travel ban targets ex-social welfare minister Dipu Moni, former health minister Zahid Maleque, ex-education minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury, former food minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder, ex-industrial minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun, and former industrial deputy minister Kamal Ahmed Majumder. Additional former lawmakers impacted include Salim Uddin, Mamunur Rashid Kiron, Kujendra Lal Tripura, Kajim Uddin, Noor-E-Alam Chowdhury Liton, Shahjahan Khan, Kamrul Islam, and Ziaur Rahman. Judge Mohammed Ash-Shams Joglul Hossain of the Metropolitan Senior Special Judge's Court in Dhaka issued the order after Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Deputy Director Abu Hena Ashiqur Rahman filed an application.

ACC Public Prosecutor Mahmud Hossain Jahangir moved the petition on behalf of the ACC. Jahangir stated that the former ministers and lawmakers were attempting to flee the country amid ongoing graft investigations, necessitating the travel ban.

The ACC informed the court that there's an ongoing probe into allegations that they illegally amassed significant wealth during their tenure. Meanwhile, a top interim government adviser reported over 1,000 deaths and more than 400 individuals blinded by police fire during protests against the Sheikh Hasina-led government.

Health Adviser Nurjahan Begum disclosed these figures during a visit to the Central Police Hospital in Dhaka's Rajarbagh, where she engaged with injured police personnel. Begum stated, "So far 1,000 people have been killed, and more than 400 students and members of the general public have lost their sight. Some have been blinded in one eye, while others have lost sight in both."

The anti-discrimination student movement, sparked in mid-July by a controversial job quota system, escalated into violent anti-government protests following a police crackdown. Several protesters were killed and many injured, transforming the movement into a demand for Prime Minister Hasina's resignation.

(With inputs from agencies.)