The intelligence men in plainclothes held former housing and public works minister and BNP leader Abbas, former civil aviation and tourism minister and senior Awami League (AL) leader Engineer Mosharraf Hossain, ex-BNP lawmaker Hafiz Ibrahim, ex-power secretary ANH Akhtar Hossain and DCC Commissioner MA Qayyum as the compound was swarming with journalists and onlookers.

Former BNP lawmaker from Narayanganj-4 Mohammad Giasuddin surrendered before the local Cognisance Court at around 10:00am. He was later sent to jail.

The same day in Sylhet, city BNP President Ariful Haque Chowdhury whose name figures in the ACC list of 50 people suspected of corruption gave himself up to a court.

Meanwhile, Law Adviser Mainul Hosein yesterday said trial of the detained political bigwigs and others accused of graft will begin by March. Those who still remain untouched will be rounded up soon after the government finishes gathering information about their corruption, he added.

ABBAS AT ACC
A huge number of intelligence men flanked Mirza Abbas as soon as he showed up in the ACC compound at Segunbagicha at 12:15pm. They steered him to the room of Commission Director Tankin Haque Siddique.

Abbas' wife Afroza Abbas, his sister Ishrat Mirza, brother-in-law Fida Hossain and lawyer NH Khan accompanied him when he turned in his wealth statement.

The army and Rab men stood in line along the corridor as the journalists and onlookers were soon bustled out of the building. A personal staff of Abbas at that time went inside with some medicine for the former mayor of the Dhaka City Corporation.

As plainclothesmen crammed the director's room, Abbas looked nervous and was looking for some water frantically. He also wanted a cigarette from one of his relatives.

The former public works minister still managed to deliver a brief speech to the newsmen waiting on the premises. He accused a section of the media for the way things have panned out against him.

He expressed displeasure for ending up at the ACC as a corruption suspect. He said some newspapers "treated him and his family ruthlessly".

He said, “I have been offered on many occasions hefty amounts to let people fill up the lakes and wetlands but I did not accept any.”

Firing a broadside against journalists, he said, “Allah will punish those who have done injustice to me.”

He spoke for around seven minutes.

Mirza Abbas came out of the ACC building at 1:10pm. As cameras clicked away from a scrum of photographers, he was whisked away in a microbus.

Spotting a correspondent of The Daily Star, Afroza Abbas said, "Your paper never speaks for justice or principles while my husband has always been on the right path."

The joint forces seized a huge sum of local and foreign currencies and other items from the South Shahjahanpur residence of Mirza Abbas on February 4.

Motijheel police filed a case against him under the Special Powers Act, Money Laundering Act and Excise Act Saturday.

The items seized include sales slips for gold ornaments worth Tk 40 lakh, 4,600 US dollars, 17,000 bahts, 418 Singapore dollars, 432 Malaysian ringgits, several mobile phone sets and five passports.

The complainant of the case Sub-Inspector Rafiqul Islam alleged that Abbas had kept those in his possession evading a huge amount of taxes.

ENGINEER MOSHARRAF AND OTHERS
Engineer Mosharraf Hossain entered the commission at 9:30am and after around 20 minutes he was held by the law enforcers.

As the former civil aviation and tourism minister of the AL government stepped out of the office on submitting a wealth statement, six to seven plainclothesmen surrounded him, got him outside the main entrance and picked him in a car.

When the security agents were busy with Abbas, Hafiz Ibrahim, former BNP lawmaker and elder brother of controversial BNP lawmaker and businessman Giasuddin-al-Mamun, slipped inside the commission building.

As he came out at around 12:40, two security men grabbed him by the hand while others hemmed him in. Soon he was taken away in a microbus.

Former energy secretary ANH Akhter Hossain and Commissioner of DCC ward No 21 MA Qayyum came to the commission in between 9:50am and 10:50am and were picked up identically by the security personnel.

Sources said as of last night the detainees were in the custody of the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab).

The arrests were made though ACC Secretary Delwar Hossain earlier said that no one [of the corruption suspects] would be held on the ACC premises.

At a press briefing yesterday he said that as far as he was concerned, none was arrested inside the ACC compound.

"There is no legal bar on making arrests on the commission premises or outside. But on ethical grounds I said they would be better off not arresting anyone there," he added.

Newly appointed ACC Chairman Hasan Mashhud Chowdhury said, “There is nothing to say about the captures of those who have been branded as corrupt.”

Our Narayanganj correspondent adds: Rejecting the bail prayer, a Narayanganj court yesterday sent former BNP lawmaker Muhammad Giasuddin to the district jail.

Earlier, Giasuddin surrendered to the Court of First Class Magistrate Anwarul Islam.

Locals said people including the supporters of BNP in Fatullah and Siddhirganj greeted the news with cheers and applause.

Fatullah Thana BNP at a rally on October 27 declared Giasuddin persona non grata. He had unleashed a reign of terror in the area during the last BNP-Jamaat rule.

Police and court sources said Giasuddin, also vice-chairman of Narayanganj district BNP, entered the court compound, wearing a veil. But just before getting inside the court, he took off the cover.

Giasuddin's lawyer Masud Khan however claimed his client did not wear any veil.

The former lawmaker's counsel appealed for a division in prison and instructions necessary for his representatives to furnish the ACC with wealth accounts.

The court said the jail authorities would ensure facilities as per the jail code while the ACC will take necessary steps with regard to submission of wealth statement.

The Rab on February 4 filed a case against him with Siddhirganj Police Station for illegal possession of foreign currencies.

Police filed a general diary (GD) after the joint forces seized Tk 10 lakh from his house on February 22.

Our staff correspondent from Sylhet reports: Sylhet city BNP chief and a Ward Commissioner Ariful Haque Chowdhury surrendered to an army camp at the Sylhet stadium yesterday afternoon.

One of the 50 corruption suspects, he was handed over to the Kotwali Police Station immediately. Later, he was produced before the Sadar magistrate's Court.

The magistrate ordered he be sent to jail on a month's detention.

Ariful who is reportedly close to former finance minister M Saifur Rahman had gone into hiding soon after the present caretaker government took over.

ADVISORY COUNCIL ON LAW AND ORDER
After a meeting of the advisory council on law and order yesterday, Barrister Mainul said specific charges against the ones in detention would be made public once the first information reports (FIRs) are lodged.

Asked why those including some Hawa Bhaban men whose names came up in the media frequently for wide-scale corruption are not held, he said, "We're exercising utmost caution in going after the top corrupt who are yet to be captured."

He added, "We know that people are talking about the issue and we have discussed it at today's [yesterday's] meeting. We're working on that."

Mainul, also chairman of advisory committee, was talking to the reporters after the meeting at the law ministry.

On bringing minor charges like misappropriation of relief materials or possession of foreign currencies against those arrested on corruption allegations, he said, "Major graft charges against them will be disclosed after the FIRs are filed and the trial begins."

Queried when they will act against the crooked bureaucrats and tender manipulators, Major Gen (retired) MA Matin, a member of the law and order committee, said 20 task forces and monitoring cells are working on the matter.