Bangla ex-minister gets jail sentence for alcohol

Dhaka, June 26: A Bangladesh court today sentenced a former minister to five years in jail for possessing banned alcoholic drinks, court officials said.

The court also ordered former communication minister Anwar Hossain Manju to pay a fine of 10,000 taka or serve an additional six months in jail.

The sentence was passed in his absence as he has been missing since March when police seized 22 bottles of Scotch whisky and several cans of beer during a search of his residence.

''Drinking, carrying, possessing and trading alcoholic drinks is an offence in Muslim dominated Bangladesh,'' a court registrar said.

Manju, owner of Bangladesh's leading newspaper chain, the Ittefaq Group of Publications, served in the cabinet of former president Hossain Mohammad Ershad from 1982 to 1990.

He is the younger brother of Mainul Husein, adviser to the interim government and head of the law ministry.

Bangladesh's army-backed interim administration has launched a crackdown on corruption, detaining more than 170 political figures including several former ministers, in a campaign to cleanse politics ahead of elections next year.

The detainees included Tareque Rahman, elder son and a heir apparent of the most recent prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia.

He has been charged for extortion, money laundering and misuse of power.

A special anti-corruption court last week sentenced a former minister of Khaleda's government to 13 years in jail for amassing wealth through illegal means.

The same court last month sentenced an aide of Khaleda and the owner of a private television channel for extortion.

Bangladesh is under a state of emergency imposed after political violence late last year.

An election scheduled for January 22 was cancelled and all political activity banned.

Reuters>