Ukhiya, Sept 17 (V7N) – Police have arrested an accused in a case filed over the alleged embezzlement of customers’ money at an agent outlet of Al-Arafah Islami Bank PLC in Palongkhali of Ukhiya, Cox’s Bazar.
The arrested man, Md Yousuf, 31, is named as the fifth accused in the case. He was arrested from the Uttara West Police Station area of Dhaka on Tuesday afternoon, September 15, during a police operation. He was later produced before a court, police said.
Yousuf is the son of Mohi Uddin and Chhenwara Begum of Kanjarpara village in Ward No. 5 of Hwaikyang Union in Teknaf upazila.
According to police, the case was filed at Ukhiya Police Station on August 19 over alleged irregularities involving customers’ deposits at the bank’s agent outlet in Palongkhali Bazar. The case, numbered 36, was filed under Sections 406, 420, 468 and 34 of the Penal Code.
According to the case statement, 21 customers had deposited a total of Tk 1 crore 42 lakh 57 thousand 944 in their accounts. The customers alleged that when they attempted to withdraw their money, they discovered discrepancies between their account records and deposit receipts, triggering anger among the depositors.
On August 22, several hundred customers held a human chain at Palongkhali Station premises. After the programme, they blocked the Cox’s Bazar-Teknaf highway, disrupting traffic for nearly three hours. The protesters demanded the return of their deposited money and action against those allegedly involved.
Nine people have been named as accused in the case, including Hakim Uddin, owner of the Al-Arafah Islami Bank agent outlet in Palongkhali; cashier Tahsin Islam; and manager Habib Ullah Farhad. They have been accused of allegedly embezzling customers’ deposits, committing fraud and falsifying account documents and deposit receipts.
Police said they have been conducting operations at different locations as part of the investigation. Yousuf was arrested from the Uttara West area of Dhaka as part of the ongoing investigation.
Ukhiya Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Atikur Rahman Majumdar said a case had been filed over the incident and Yousuf was arrested from Uttara West in Dhaka as part of the investigation.
“He has been produced before a court in Cox’s Bazar,” the OC said.
Earlier, on August 18, local residents detained agent outlet owner Hakim Uddin and cashier Tahsin Islam and handed them over to police. They were subsequently taken into police custody.
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