Bangladesh ex-minister Abdul Latif Siddiqui' surrenders after anti-Islam remarks

DHAKA: A former Bangladeshi minister, who created a flutter by his anti-Islam statements, today surrendered to police after a court ordered his arrest following nationwide protests.

Abdul Latif Siddiqui's surrender came a day after Islamists gave an ultimatum to detain him after he returned home on Sunday from Kolkata, where he was staying for the last one month.

Siddiqui, 76, chose to stay temporarily in Kolkata on his way back home from New York, where he accompanied Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to the UN General Assembly meeting.

His return sparked fresh demands for his immediate arrest with a major group threatening to stage a nationwide strike if he was not detained.

"He (Siddiqui) drove to the police station in his own car and reported to the duty officer at about 1.30 pm today," an officer at Dhaka's Dhanmandi police station told reporters.

He was then taken to the metropolitan magistrate's court in old Dhaka which ordered him to be sent to jail, rejecting his bail plea.

Siddique's remarks triggered widespread protests across the Muslim-majority nation in September, with Islamists demanding his immediate dismissal from the cabinet of Hasina and his prosecution for "hurting their feelings".

Embarrassed Hasina stripped Siddiqui off his cabinet position and the Awami League subsequently cancelled even his primary membership in the party.