DHAKA, 9 March 2007 — Former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia’s son was among six Bangladeshi politicians arrested in a predawn swoop by authorities yesterday.
Tareque Rahman was picked up from his mother’s Cantonment residence minutes after midnight. His mother was reportedly present during the raid and arrest.
Tareque, dubbed the “crown prince” by the media, has been widely accused of graft. He was described by one critic as “the epicenter of crime and corruption” during his mother’s five-year premiership. He is a senior leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
Security forces also arrested Khandaker Mosarraf Hossain, a former health minister and a close aide of Khaleda, from his residence in Dhaka’s northern Gulshan district. Among the detainees were also the mayor of the southeastern port city of Chittagong, two former lawmakers and the leader of an Islamic party.
Mayor A.B.M. Mohiuddin Chowdhury was picked up from his house in Chittagong, 216 km southeast of the national capital Dhaka. Chowdhury is also a senior leader of the Awami League, headed by former Prime Minister Hasina Wajed. The security forces searched the house of Hasina in Dhaka.
Late Wednesday, security forces detained Atiqullah Khan Masud, owner of Dhaka’s Janakantha daily newspaper from his office, the paper’s editor Toab Khan said. It was not known why Masud, was detained.
The government did not immediately explain the charges against the detained politicians. The government’s Law Adviser Moinul Hussein said earlier that the drive was targeted against those accused of graft.
Feuding between the BNP and Awami League over electoral reforms triggered several months of violent street protests, prompting acting President Iajuddin Ahmed to impose the state of emergency on Jan. 11. National elections that were scheduled for Jan. 22 were postponed because of the political unrest, in which 34 people died. No new election date has been set.
The interim government was yesterday preparing to make more arrests, a senior security official said, adding that a second list of 50 high-profile corruption suspects had been drawn up.
— Additional input from agencies
