Khulna Sadar police picked them up on Thursday night from the Gagan Babu Road house of AL leader and former general secretary of Khulna District Sports Association Hasan Rumi.

Hearing on their bail petition will be held in the court of Metropolitan Magistrate Shefina Begum. She has directed Khulna district jail authorities to grant division only to Talukder Khaleque, treating him as a VIP prisoner.

Seven others arrested are Superintendent of Khulna Narcotics Control Department Makbul Hossain, retired police inspector Abdul Aziz, former ward commissioner Nurul Islam Manu, local AL leaders Liaquat Ali, Golam Mostafa, Abdul Malek and Jahangir Alam.

Sub-Inspector Bikash Chandra Shil of Khulna Sadar Police Station has mentioned in the case as complainant that a sum of Tk 22,000 and four sets of cards were recovered from the arrestees who were gambling at that time.

Deputy Commissioner of Khulna Metropolitan Police Abdul Jalil Mondol said the former state minister and his associates used to sit frequently in that house for hatching up 'conspiracy' against the present government.

Talukder Abdul Khaleque was elected lawmaker from Bagerhat-3 constituency (Rampal-Mongla) in 1991, 1996 and 2001 parliamentary elections.

He is one of the five persons named in the FIR lodged with Rampal Police Station on January 11 in 2003 for misappropriating Tk 34 lakh out of Tk 39 lakh allocated for the construction of academic building of Sundarban Mohila College in Rampal upazila of Bagerhat.

Trial of the case against Talukder and two others will begin on July 25.