Bangladesh arrests former top judge

DHAKA:

Police in Bangladesh arrested the country's former top judge on Thursday in connection with a murder-related case, authorities said.

A court in Dhaka later sent the former chief justice, 81-year-old ABM Khairul Haque, to jail.

Police officer Nasir Islam told AFP that "Haque is facing several other cases, but he was shown arrested for his alleged involvement in a murder" during the student uprising last year that ousted former premier Sheikh Hasina.

The murder case was filed by Ala Uddin, a leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) — which is widely expected to win the next election — accusing Haque, Hasina and 465 others of killing his son during the popular uprising.

Haque was brought into a packed courtroom in Dhaka where he remained silent as the judge ordered him jailed, witnesses said.