March 19, 2007	Monday	Safar 29, 1428

DHAKA: Bangladeshi police said on Sunday they had formally laid charges of extortion against the influential son of Bangladesh's outgoing prime minister Khaleda Zia.

“We have filed the charge sheet against Tareque Rahman and his secretary at the speedy trial court. They are charged with extorting 10 million taka ($144,000) from a businessman,” said police investigator Mahbub Morshed.

The charges were laid after the police's “preliminary investigations found evidence and proof that Tareque took money from construction businessman Amin Ahmed Bhuiyan”, he added.

“The court will now hold a trial after completing some formalities,” he said.

Tareque, the eldest son of Zia and former president Ziaur Rahman, was widely seen as being groomed to take the leadership of Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).

He now faces between two and five years behind bars if convicted.

Police said Bhuiyan filed the case earlier this month.

Tareque is one of about 45 influential figures who have been detained on suspicion of corruption.—AFP