Police have arrested a man in Dhaka in a case filed over the alleged embezzlement of customers’ deposits at an agent banking outlet of Al-Arafah Islami Bank PLC in Palongkhali, Cox’s Bazar.
Md Yousuf, 31, is the fifth accused in the case and was arrested from the Uttara West area of Dhaka on Tuesday afternoon (Sept 15), police said. He was later sent to court. Three people have so far been arrested in connection with the case.
Yousuf is the son of Mahi Uddin and Chhenwara Begum of Kanjorpara village in Ward 5 of Whykong union in Teknaf upazila.
According to police, the case was filed at Ukhiya Police Station on Aug 19 over alleged irregularities involving customers’ deposits at the bank’s agent outlet in Palongkhali Bazar. The case was filed under Sections 406, 420, 468 and 34 of the Penal Code.
The case statement says 21 customers had deposited a total of 1.43 crore taka at the outlet. They later alleged that the amounts shown in their accounts did not match their deposit receipts when they tried to withdraw their money.
The alleged irregularities sparked protests among the customers. On Aug 22, several hundred depositors formed a human chain in front of Palongkhali Station before blocking the Cox’s Bazar-Teknaf highway. The blockade disrupted traffic for around three hours.
The protesters demanded the return of their deposits and legal action against those responsible.
Nine people have been named as accused in the case, including Hakim Uddin, owner of the Palongkhali agent outlet; cashier Tahsin Islam; and manager Habib Ullah Farhad.
They have been accused of embezzling customers’ deposits, fraud and forging account documents and deposit receipts.
Police said they are conducting raids at different locations as part of the investigation. Yousuf was arrested during one such operation in Uttara West.
Ukhiya Police Station Officer-in-Charge Atikur Rahman Majumder confirmed the arrest and said Yousuf was later produced before the Cox’s Bazar court.
Earlier, on Aug 18, local residents detained outlet owner Hakim Uddin and cashier Tahsin Islam and handed them over to police. They were subsequently taken into police custody.