Security forces arrested former Bangladesh prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia and her younger son, Arafat Rahman, for corruption on Monday, underlining the interim government’s drive to root out graft under an Emergency rule imposed eight months ago. Khaleda now joins her bitter rival and another former prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, and more than 170 senior political figures behind bars.

Mainul Husein, the army-backed administration’s law and information advisor, said Khaleda’s arrest proved that “no one is above the law” in the government’s drive against corruption. “Khaleda Zia’s arrest was delayed because they (the Anti-Corruption Commission) needed some time to have all the necessary proof in hand,” he told reporters.

Khaleda told a Dhaka court that she and her son are innocent. But she was refused bail. “This is a conspiracy to tarnish the image of my family and my party,” she said. “We have done nothing wrong. This case against us must be lifted.”

From the court, Khaleda, escorted by hundreds of police, was taken to a makeshift prison near the Parliament building. Her prison is just a few blocks from where her arch rival and another ex-premier, Sheikh Hasina, has been held since July on extortion charges.

The arrest of Khaleda and her younger son came after the commission accused her of illegally influencing the selection of an operator for two state-run container depots in 2003, during her second term in power. Rahman had allegedly influenced his mother to select the operator of his choice, police said. The son was remanded to police custody for a week.

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