A former Bangladeshi minister accused of corruption in a case involving a container terminal deal was sent to jail Tuesday to await trial, his lawyer said. Former Agriculture Minister M.K. Anwar was denied bail and ordered to jail after he surrendered before the Metropolitan Sessions Court, defense lawyer Khandakar Delwar Hossain said. On Sunday and Monday, three other former ministers – including the head of Bangladesh's largest Islamic party – were also jailed pending trial in the same corruption case. The detained former ministers, who have denied the charges against them, were part of ex-Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's Cabinet from 2001-2006. The detentions come nearly a week after a Dhaka court ordered the arrests of six former Cabinet ministers in a case that involves awarding contracts _ without proper bidding _ to a local company to manage a container terminal in the capital, Dhaka. Zia, who is in detention facing several corruption charges, is also implicated in this latest corruption case, along with her younger son, Arafat Rahman. Two other suspects, the former commerce minister and finance minister, are fugitives abroad. The latest case is part of an anti-corruption drive undertaken by the country's military-backed interim government. Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist party has decried all the charges, saying they are false and politically motivated. Ex-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, is also in jail awaiting trial in a number of corruption cases. If convicted, all the suspects would be barred from contesting the next elections, which are slated for later this year.
