corruption court indicted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in her second graft case Sunday and police later arrested the head of the country's largest Islamic party on graft charges, officials said. Another court jailed two former Cabinet ministers Sunday pending their corruption trial. The spate of corruption cases against prominent politicians comes as Bangladesh's interim military government prepares for elections later this year. The country's Anti-Corruption Commission accused Hasina – along with seven others – accepting 30 million taka ($440,000) in kickbacks in a power plant deal during her term in office between 1996-2001 . Hasina, who is already jailed awaiting trial in another corruption case, denied the charges in court Sunday. “This is a false charge and politically motivated. It was filed only to destroy my political career,” Hasina told the court. If proved, she may be imprisoned for up to seven years, which would also rule her out of contesting national polls due in December, lawyers said. Late Sunday evening, police raided the home of Matiur Rahman Nizami, chief of the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh, and arrested him on graft charges, Nizami's close aide Ali Ahsan Mujahid said by telephone. “The corruption charge is false,” Mujahid told The Associated Press. Nizami is a former member of the cabinet headed by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, who is herself now detained on various graft charges. The arrest was made hours after the High Court denied Nizami's plea for interim bail. Police will now have to produce Nizami before a court in 24 hours. More than 170 key political figures have been detained by the army-backed interim authority since it took charge in January last year following months of political violence. Nearly 50 of them have been jailed.
