A Bangladesh court on Sunday sent three political leaders, including former ministers, to jail and held another in custody for further interrogation on charges of corruption and misuse of power, court officials said. They were among a dozen people arrested in a revamped anti-corruption sweep last week by the army-backed interim government. Abdul Jalil, general secretary of Awami League party, former health minister Sheikh (Fazlul Karim) Selim, and top businessman MA Hashem were sent to jail on a 30-day detention order, a court registrar said. Former junior home minister Lutfuzzaman Babar was handed over to police for another four days of questioning for alleged illegal possession of weapons recovered from his home during a search last week, officials said.Selim, a cousin of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, and Jalil were ministers in HasinaÂ’s government from 1996 to 2001. Babar served in the government of HasinaÂ’s rival Begum Khaleda Zia. Hasham is a former lawmaker and a top financier to KhaledaÂ’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Immediately after the latest arrests last week the court also sent to jail for 30 days retired air vice marshal Altaf Hossain Chaudhry, who was a former home minister in KhaledaÂ’s government.
The interim government headed by former central bank governor Fakhruddin Ahmed took charge on January 11 after imposing a state of emergency following deadly political violence. Since January, more than 170 people, including former ministers of the governments of Hasina and Khaleda, have been detained.