A group of Jamaat-Shibir activists have been spreading rumors about Islami Bank through social media campaigns, said Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police on Monday.
The group has been encouraging people to withdraw their deposits from the Islami Bank by spreading propaganda like the bank has no money or reserve, DB Additional Commissioner of Police Harun-or-Rashid disclosed the information in a press briefing in Dhaka.
This ring also includes former directors and officers of Islami Bank, he added.
“We got to know many names involved in this ring, including former directors and officers of Islami Bank,” he said.
“Actions will be taken against them soon,” he added.
The cyber crime department of the Detective Branch arrested five people on Sunday from different areas of the capital for spreading rumors about the bank and financial sector of the country.
The arrestees are - Mohammad Noor Un Nabi, Afsar Uddin Roman, Abu Saeed Saju, Swadhin Mia, and Abdus Salam.
When asked if there was any other political party's involvement with this ring, Harun-or-Rashid said that no other party's participation has been found so far except Jamaat-Shibir.
Urging people not to be influenced by these propagandas, Harun-or-Rashid said Bangladesh currently has sufficient foreign exchange reserves. The bankruptcy of banks and financial institutions is a rumor. “Do not panic and withdraw your deposits from banks,” he said.
Harun-or-Rashid said Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd is a reputed bank in the country. The bank was once occupied by anti-liberation activists including Mir Kashem Ali, who was executed for war crimes against humanity.
“When the bank was later freed from the occupation of the anti-liberation forces, the Jamaat-Shibir gang started spreading rumors about the management of the bank. The main objective of this gang was to destabilize the country's financial sector and bring the government into disrepair,” he said.
Recently, a case was filed under the Digital Security Act with the Gulshan police in the capital for spreading rumors about the banking sector.
The social media crime investigation team of the Cyber and Special Crime division (DB) has been assigned to investigate the case.
