Bangladesh rounds up more politicians

BANGLADESH: Bangladesh arrested two more political leaders on corruption allegations, including an outgoing government minister, as 19 others were remanded in custody for a month, officials said Tuesday.

"Joint forces arrested former forests minister of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) government Tariqul Islam from his residence in (western) Jessore district," said a court official.

Former BNP lawmaker Rashiduzzaman Millat was also detained, added a Dhaka police official.

The arrests late Sunday were not previously disclosed. Nineteen others, including eight former ministers, who were arrested on Sunday appeared in court in Dhaka on Monday.

Bail was refused and the high-profile detainees were remanded in custody and sent to the capital's main jail, defence lawyer Abdul Baten told AFP.

The detained leaders who have links to both the outgoing BNP-led government and the main opposition Awami League were arrested as part of a crackdown on corruption by the country's new interim government.

The drive is part the caretaker government's effort to win the confidence of all political parties in order to hold credible elections.

Polls scheduled for January were cancelled following months of violent protests over opposition allegations of poll rigging.

At the same time as cancelling the polls, which the Awami League had threatened to boycott, President Iajuddin Ahmed also stepped down as head of the temporary government and imposed a state of emergency.

Bangladesh is one of the world's most corrupt countries, according to anti-graft watchdog Transparency International.

Dhaka, Tuesday, AFP