An arrest warrant was today issued against the son of former Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia to face trial on massive graft charges, with a local court asking police to seek Interpol's help in nabbing the fugitive BNP leader living in London.
Tarique Rahman, senior vice chairman of the main opposition BNP, was issued the arrest warrant after Anti-Corruption Commission's counsel Mosharoff Hossain Kajol moved a petition for his arrest in the court of Third Special Judge (Dhaka).
At the end of the hearing, Judge Mohammed Mozzamel Haque said he has "accepted" the prosecution's demand for Rahman's arrest. He also issued the arrest warrant and directed police to bring him back to the country with the Interpol's help.
Rahman is also being tried in absentia by another court on charges of murders.
He was indicted on a case filed by the independent and statutory graft body in absentia on August 8, 2011 after he defied a court order demanding his appearance.
The ACC filed the case against Rahman during the emergency rules under the 2006-2008 army backed interim government while he was allowed to take an overseas tour for medical treatment under a Supreme Court order at the fag end of the period.
Rahman apparently maintained a low profile in exile as he was charged under a series of graft and criminal cases with one being the deadly August 21, 2004 grenade attack on an opposition rally apparently targeting incumbent Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Hasina narrowly escaped the attempt but sustained permanent hearing impairment while 24 people were killed in the attack.
But the warrant came a week after he was back in news joining a BNP ( Bangladesh Nationalist Party) meeting in East London, demanding restoration of caretaker government system for election oversight when he urged expatriate Bangladeshis to mount pressures on the ruling Awami League on the issue.
Rahman's younger brother, also a fugitive, Arafat Rahman Koko is currently living in Bangkok apparently to evade justice for siphoning off huge amount of money during the 2001-2007 BNP rule.
ACC earlier said they recovered 2041,000 Singapore dollars which was siphoned off by Koko while a Dhaka court last year handed him down six years of imprisonment after trial in absentia for siphoning off over Taka 20 crore abroad.
Koko was arrested on September 2007 on graft charges along with his elder brother under a massive anti-graft campaign under the past emergency rules and was paroled for treatment abroad in July 2008.
BNP has consistently been alleging that the Zia's sons were being victimised for political vengeance while the issue appeared as a crucial factor ahead of the next year's general elections.
The World Bank recently released a publication mentioning the alleged embezzlement of several million dollars by Koko as "an example of stealing national assets".
