Five people have been detained for allegedly committing fraud on Facebook using the names of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her family members.
The detainees used fake accounts on Facebook to spread rumours and take money from people.
They posed as the prime minister and posted about the development of the country, trying to gain followers.
The detainees were held in Dhaka on Thursday, RAB said in an SMS.
According to the SMS, they also used the names of different national leaders while making the accounts.
RAB's Legal and Media Wing Director Mufti Mahmud Khan confirmed the arrest during a press briefing in Dhaka on Thursday. He said: “The five were arrested at Moghbazar, Demra and Mohammadpur in Dhaka; and Keraniganj and Savar just outside of the capital.
“The arrests took place at various hours from Wednesday morning to Thursday morning.”
The arrestees were identified as Md Omor Faruk, 30; Md Sabbir Hossain, 24; Md Al Amin, 27; Md Aminul Islam, 25; and Md Monir Hossain, 29.
“We also confiscated 12 mobile phones and one laptop from the detainees,” said Mufti Mahmud Khan.
He elaborated that the five opened 36 Facebook accounts impersonating prominent political figures; including Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
“They would speak to individuals, pretending to be the prime minister. They would lie and take money from unsuspecting people,” he said.
Md Omor Faruk allegedly opened six Facebook accounts impersonating the prime minister, her daughter Saima Wazed, and Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury. He posted about various ongoing development programs of the country to make the account seem authentic.
They coaxed information and money out of people via Facebook assuring them that they were speaking to them on behalf of the prime minister and that they would forward the information to her. Their ultimate target was to extort money out of people, the rest they did to seem reliable.
The RAB official also said that another detainee, Sabbir Hossain, has two cases filed against him under the Anti-Terrorism Act and four cases under the Information and Communication Technology Act. He works with online communication matters professionally.
He was the admin of the Facebook pages named “Tarique Zia Cyber Force” and “Deshnetri Cyber Forum.”
Recently on those pages, he posted malicious videos about the quota reform movement, meant to incite violence. He cited the names of the prime minister and her daughter, aiming for political vengeance, said Mufti Mahmud Khan.
Arrestee Al Amin is the admin of various fake political pages. He posted pictures of many national leaders along with false information and quotes regarding multiple national institutions such as the army, police, and judiciary.
Aminul Islam is a member of the Saimum Shilpi Gosthi, which is an associate organization of Chhatra Shibir.
“We will take legal action against the detainees,” Mufti Mahmud Khan said.
