May 08, 2008	Thursday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 2, 1429

DHAKA: A Bangladesh court charged former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina with corruption on Wednesday over contracts awarded to a Canadian oil and gas company in 2001, an investigator said.

Eight other people, including Hasina’s political colleagues, former bureaucrats and a local representative of Calgary-based Niko Resources, have also been charged with corruption, said A.M.M. Sabbir Hasan, a deputy director of the official Anti-corruption Commission.

Hasan said Dhaka’s Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court accepted the conclusions the commission reached following an investigation and the case will now go to trial.

Hasina’s senior colleagues and Niko officials could not be immediately reached for comment on Wednesday.

Hasina, now behind bars pending trial on various corruption charges, has said during several previous court appearances that all the charges have been trumped up by the current military-backed interim government to prevent her from taking part in elections, expected to be held by the end of this year.

The corruption commission contends Bangladesh lost millions of dollars because of ‘’uneven and illegal deals’’ that allowed Niko Resources to explore for gas at the Tengratila field in Sunamganj district, 175 kilometers northeast of the capital, Dhaka.

The charges also involve the Feni gas field, which is managed by the company.

Bangladesh, a parliamentary democracy, has been run by a military-backed interim government since January 2007, when a state of emergency was declared following the deaths of more than 30 people in street protests demanding electoral reforms.

Another former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia is accused of similar charges involving Niko Resources. Zia is also in jail, awaiting trial.

Bangladesh has proven natural gas reserves of up to 15 trillion cubic feet.—AP