Bangaladesh courts issue arrest warrants against Zia's sons

Two Bangladeshi courts here today ordered arrest of main opposition BNP chief and former premier Khaleda Zia's two now expatriate sons and an influential minister of her past government on graft and extortion charges.
   
Metropolitan magistrate Mehedi Hasan Talukdar issued the arrest warrant against Zia's elder son Tarique Rahman along with seven others as they failed to appear before the court on the scheduled date of hearing on an extortion case filed during the past military backed interim government.
   
"The court issued the order as 'no step was taken' on behalf of Tarique Rahman for the hearing," a police official said.
   
In a separate development, senior special judge ANM Bashirullah issued arrest warrants against Zia's younger son Arafat Rahman Koko and former state minister Fazlur Rahman Patal in two separate tax evasion cases lodged by National Board of Revenue (NBR).
   
Koko faces the case on charges of dodging over Taka 52 lakh tax from 2002-2003 to 2006-2007 fiscals while Patal was accused of evading tax over Taka 26 lakh in 2005-2006.
   
Zia's both sons were in jail on several graft and criminals charges under a massive anti-graft campaign during the interim government under emergency rules while they were freed on bail ahead of the December 29, 2008 general elections for treatment abroad.
   
Rahman stays in London while Koko lives in Singapore.