Bangladesh detains former law minister in graft hunt

Dhaka, Apr 13: Security forces in Bangladesh detained former law and parliamentary affairs minister Moudud Ahmed today in a widening hunt for politicians suspected of corruption, police said.

''He has been detained from his Dhaka home and taken for interrogation,'' a police officer said, without giving details.

Moudud was a close associate of the most recent prime minister, Begum Khaleda Zia, who has been has been placed in virtual confinement at her Dhaka residence for several days.

About 160 senior politicians have been detained in a crackdown on graft launched by the military-backed interim government after it took charge January 11 and imposed a state of emergency to halt widespread factional violence.

The crackdown has netted figures from both Khaleda's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) including her elder son and apparent political heir, Tareque Rahman and the Awami League led by her arch-rival, Sheikh Hasina.

Hasina, currently on a private visit to the United States, faces charges of extortion and murder back home.

She had been planning to cut short the visit and return next week to be personally available for investigation, but party officials said she would now be staying in the United States indefinitely.

Hasina has rejected the charges against her as false, motivated and farcical.

Reuters