Dhaka  - Police in Bangladesh arrested a former army chief for his alleged involvement in the purchase of overpriced Russian warplanes a decade ago, officials said on Monday.

Lieutenant-General Mustafizur Rahman, who was army chief in the late 1990s, was sued by the Anti-Corruption Commission for causing losses to the country of 100 million dollars by endorsing the deal.

Rahman, along with a defence purchase committee, has been blamed for choosing eight costly Russian-built Mig-29s despite the option of a less expensive aircraft for the country's fledgling air force.

A court also indicted former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who chaired the committee meetings, along with six of its members.

"The warplane deal was signed between the governments of Russia and Bangladesh and no single individual can change decisions of the committee, which are reached after a lot of study and thought," said the ex-army chief in a statement to the court. (dpa)