Foreign hand behind failed coup attempt, says Bangladesh

Petrapole (West Bengal), Jan 21 (IANS) Bangladesh Saturday hinted at a foreign hand behind the coup attempt against the Sheikh Hasina government.

'There could be a foreign hand,' Bangladesh Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith said on the sidelines of a programme here.

The Bangladesh Army said Thursday it had thwarted the attempt, by over a dozen retired and serving officers with 'fanatical religious views', to topple the government.

It has arrested two former army officers who had plotted the coup in which about a dozen military personnel were said to be involved.

The Bangladesh minister said the fact that the coup was prevented showed that a preventive mechanism was in place.

Muhith said there has been a feeling of relief among the public when the army announced that the coup was averted.

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