Dhaka, March 24 -- Retired three-star general Masud Uddin Chowdhury tried to eliminate the Zia family and kill incumbent Prime Minister Tarique Rahman during the 1/11 military-controlled caretaker government, a court has heard.

Dhaka Metropolitan Public Prosecutor Omar Faruk Faruqi made the remarks while making the case for remanding Gen Masud into police custody, hours after he was arrested at his Baridhara DOHS residence in the early hours of Tuesday.

Masud, who was also identified as a key architect of the "minus-two formula" -- forcing the late Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina into exile -- was presented before the court in connection with a case involving alleged embezzlement of Tk 240 billion and human trafficking.

The case was file...