DHAKA, Dec 17: Bangladesh's former army ruler Hossain Mohammad Ershad was “missing or hiding” on Sunday, three days after the High Court confirmed a two-year jail sentence against him, his associates said.

“He (Ershad) has remained unreachable since Sunday morning,” said his brother, G.M. Quader, a former lawmaker and senior leader of Ershad's Jatiya Party.

Another party leader Kazi Zafar Ahmed, a former prime minister, said Ershad was in a hospital in his home town of Rangpur in northern Bangladesh “for rest and medical check ups”.

Hospital officials told reporters that Ershad had not been admitted.

Kazi Feroze Rashaid, another leader of the Jatiya Party, said: “Our chairman is at his home, taking a rest.”

Calls made by newsmen to his Dhaka residence were not answered. Police declined to comment.

Some people said he might be trying to escape arrest after the confirmation of his sentence.

Ershad was sentenced by a lower court years ago for squandering state funds in a deal to purchase patrol boats from Japan while he was in power from 1982 to 1990.

The High Court confirmed his sentence suddenly on Thursday, as the retired general was planning to conclude a deal to support a 14-party alliance headed by Sheikh Hasina, chief of Awami League.

Ershad will not be able to contest the Jan. 23 election unless the High Court ruling was overturned by the Supreme Court, legal officials said.

Earlier, Ershad said he could also forge an alliance with Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) led by Begum Khaleda Zia, the most immediate past prime minister.—Reuters