Separate demonstrations by a customer forum and dismissed officers and employees of Islami Bank Bangladesh PLC continued in Motijheel, Dhaka, on Thursday, with both groups maintaining their positions over issues surrounding the bank’s management, alleged irregularities and employment.
Members of the Islami Bank Conscious Customers Forum gathered outside Islami Bank Tower in the Dilkusha area from Thursday morning. They held a protest rally, raised slogans and demanded action against those they accuse of being involved in alleged financial irregularities and the mismanagement of the bank. The forum also called for action against individuals and entities it says were involved in the alleged looting of the bank, including the S Alam Group.
The customer forum said its position outside the bank’s head office had entered its fifth consecutive day. Its members are seeking measures they believe are necessary to restore stability and protect the interests of the bank’s customers.
At the same time, dismissed officers and employees of Islami Bank staged a separate demonstration around Shapla Chattar. They raised slogans including, “One demand, one point—we want our jobs back.” The protesters said more than 100 dismissed officers and employees from Patiya in Chattogram had also joined the programme.
The former employees said they submitted a memorandum to the governor of Bangladesh Bank last Sunday but had yet to secure a meeting with him. They warned that they would consider stronger programmes, including surrounding the Bangladesh Bank headquarters, if the governor did not meet them to discuss their grievances.
Professor Nurunnabi Manik, president of the conscious customers forum, said the process of forming Islami Bank’s board of directors was nearing completion and alleged that various attempts were being made to create instability at the bank. He claimed that efforts by a group to stage a protest outside the bank were part of such attempts.
Manik said customers would remain united against any effort to destabilise Islami Bank. He added that the forum would continue its activities peacefully and through organised programmes while seeking to safeguard customers’ interests.
Mutasim Billah, secretary of the forum, called for the rapid formation of a full board of directors to restore stability at the bank. He also demanded the recovery of assets allegedly transferred abroad by the S Alam Group, the adjustment of what he described as irregular loan facilities, and legal action against those found responsible.
The dispute also centres on the status of the bank’s dismissed employees. Billah opposed their demand for reinstatement, alleging that many people had been recruited during the S Alam period without following proper recruitment procedures. He said an examination was later held to create an opportunity for some of those employees to remain at the bank.
According to Billah, many of those who took part in the examination are still employed by Islami Bank, while a number of the current protesters did not sit for it.
Dismissed officer Mizan rejected that allegation. He said many employees did not participate in the examination because they had approached the courts seeking its cancellation. He also disputed the claim that everyone who took part in the examination remained employed by the bank. Mizan said the dismissed employees would continue their movement until their employment issue was resolved.
Another dismissed officer, Anwar, alleged that they had been removed from their positions without prior notice or proper procedure. He said prolonged unemployment had placed their families under severe financial strain. He demanded reinstatement and the provision of benefits he said were due to them.
Another protester, Ashraf, said the loss of employment had pushed the affected families into serious financial difficulty. He also said they would continue their protest until their jobs were restored.
The customer forum has also accused the dismissed employees of being involved in loan disbursement and other irregularities. The protesters, however, had not immediately given a detailed response to those allegations.
The two separate demonstrations reflect competing concerns surrounding Islami Bank. The customer forum is pressing for stronger action over alleged financial irregularities and for measures to ensure institutional stability, while the dismissed employees are demanding the restoration of their jobs and an opportunity to present their grievances to the central bank.
With both groups maintaining their respective positions, the dispute remains centred on questions of accountability, management and employment at one of Bangladesh’s major banking institutions.
