Customers’ Forum continues sit-in, demands Islami Bank reforms

Members of the Sachetan Grahak Forum (Conscious Customers’ Forum) continued their sit-in in front of Islami Bank Tower in the capital’s Dilkusha area on Tuesday, demanding measures to protect depositors’ interests and restore stability in Islami Bank Bangladesh PLC. However, no dismissed officials or employees of the bank were seen at the spot.

Earlier, members of the customers’ forum and dismissed officials and employees of the bank took opposing positions for two consecutive days in front of the bank’s head office in Dilkusha.

On the second day of the demonstration on Monday, dismissed bank officials allegedly attacked members of the customers’ forum, leaving around 30 forum members injured, five of them seriously. The dismissed officials also claimed that 25 of their members were injured in the incident.

In protest, members of the Sachetan Grahak Forum gathered near Islami Bank Tower in Motijheel’s Dilkusha area from Tuesday morning. They later marched to the front of the tower and took position there around 10:00am. No dismissed bank officials, however, were seen in the Motijheel-Dilkusha area.

Police, intelligence agency personnel and the bank’s security staff were deployed in and around the area to prevent any untoward incident.

Professor Nurunnabi Manik, president of the Sachetan Grahak Forum, said customers would jointly resist any illegal activities or attempts to destabilise Islami Bank.

He said the forum would continue its peaceful and lawful programmes to protect the interests of the bank’s customers.

“Steps must be taken to form a full-fledged board of directors as soon as possible through discussions with the relevant authorities to restore stability to the bank and regain customers’ confidence,” Manik said.