DHAKA, 6 October 2007 — A new list containing names of 35 people suspected of corruption was released by the interim government in Dhaka on Thursday. The list includes Dhaka City Mayor Sadek Hossain Khoka, former Awami League ministers Tofail Ahmed and Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury, and former adviser to the caretaker government Justice Fazlul Haque.

These people are among the 80 corruption suspects figured in the list issued on Sept. 27.

Khoka and Tofail were considered reformists and earlier thought to have enjoyed the support of the army-led caretaker government.

The latest list, the fourth since Jan. 11, also contains the names of former ministers and MPs from Bangladesh Nationalist Party and Awami League besides bureaucrats and businessmen. The name of the chairman of a development agency, Proshika Kazi Faruk Ahmed, is also on the list.

The “suspects”, who could have engaged in corruption while in office include two members of Awami League’s presidium, its top policy-making body.

Tofail Ahmed’s name was known last week, ending his efforts to coordinate with like-minded political parties who form a 14-party alliance.

Also on the list is former Supreme Court judge, Justice Fazlul Haque, who was briefly adviser, performing ministerial functions in the team headed by President Iajuddin Ahmed.

The list includes 17 politicians of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), eight of the Awami League, one of the Jatiya Party and five bureaucrats, New Age newspaper reported yesterday.

The businessmen suspected of economic offenses are being treated separately, as panic caused among the community could cause economic uncertainties. The government has mooted a “Truth Commission” to rein in the businessmen.

Chiefs of both the BNP and the Awami League, former prime ministers Khaleda Zia and Hasina Wajed, are in jail on corruption charges.

Bangladesh Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed the Dhaka High Court order granting bail to Khaleda Zia.

They are among the hundreds netted in the anti-corruption drive conducted since February by the army-backed government of Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed.