Customers protest after huge sums vanish from three accounts at Rupali Bank, locking branch in outrage

District Correspondent

19 lakh 33 thousand taka has been secretly disappeared from the accounts of three customers of the same family of Rupali Bank in Sonagazi, Feni. Without the knowledge of the customers, this money was transferred to several accounts of different banks with the help of that bank.

The incident took place at Rupali Bank’s Amir Uddin Munshirhat branch in Sonagazi. More than two weeks have passed since the incident, but the bank has still not returned the money. In this situation, angry customers protested and formed a human chain by locking the bank’s gate on Tuesday morning. Later, when the bank authorities came forward for discussions, the locks were opened.

According to customer and bank sources, 33,000 taka was transferred from customer Abul Bashar’s account, 18.05 lakh taka from elder son Mansur Alam’s account, and 95,000 taka from younger son Iftekhar Alam’s account to accounts of Islami Bank, AB Bank, One Bank, City Bank and some other branches of Rupali Bank. They do not know anything about this.

Bank officials first noticed the suspicious transaction on November 12. When contacted later, Abul Bashar denied the transactions. The matter was quickly reported to higher authorities and an investigation team from the head office visited the branch.

The victim said, “My four sons live in Malaysia. Although money was withdrawn from three accounts of me and my two sons, the bank has not taken any action. There is a fear of collusion among the officials. Although the manager assured me that 6 lakh taka has been returned, it is not true. They are harassing me for months.

He said, “The bank is responsible for providing security to the money. But instead, they are asking me to file a case at the police station. When I went to the bank and the police station to ask for help, I was treated disrespectfully. Instead of filing a case against the thieves, the bank is asking me to file a case. I filed a GD at the police station on Tuesday night. I want justice, I want an investigation, and I want all our money back.”

Rupali Bank branch manager Didarul Alam said that money from three accounts was transferred through mobile apps. These transactions are controlled by the head office, not at the branch level. The investigation is underway. Before each transaction, an OTP is sent to the customer’s mobile. Whether he or anyone in his family has used the OTP or not, the investigation will reveal.

Bankers Forum Sonagazi branch president and Islami Bank manager Mansurul Alam said, “Fraudsters misuse information technology to commit such acts. The truth will come out only through investigation.”