Police have arrested five people allegedly for spreading rumours about Bangladesh's banking sector.
The arrestees have been identified as Mohammad Nur Un Nabi, Md Afsar Uddin Roman, Md Abu Sayid Saju, Md Shadhin Mia, and Md Abdus Salam, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police said a day after they were arrested in parts of the capital on Monday, reports bdnews24.com.
Their arrests stem from the recent dissemination of disinformation about S Alam Group, Islami Bank and other banks and financial institutions, according to Additional Commissioner Harunor Rashid, chief of the DMP's Detective Branch.
Certain individuals are attempting to destabilise Bangladesh’s financial sector by spreading false information about banks and financial institutions through social media and other means.
The DB’s cyber monitoring team investigated the matter when it caught their attention. They found that several people, including the arrestees, are spreading fabricated information in various parts of the country, including through social media, with the help of 'anti-independence conspirators' in the country and abroad.
Harunor said Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited is a reputed bank in Bangladesh and the anti-independence quarter made it a target of their disinformation campaign aimed at creating a crisis of confidence in the banking sector among the common people.
The main objective of this ring is to destabilise the country's financial sector and disrupt the government.
"The arrestees have been spreading false propaganda and rumours related to banking in the name of the chairmen of various reputed institutions, including S Alam Group,” said Harunor.
“They were also campaigning for expatriate workers not to send remittances. They were trying to spread gossip about the bank being bankrupt or having no money.”
He said that various circulars have been issued by Bangladesh Bank to keep people informed about these rumours.
During the preliminary interrogation, the arrestees confessed to conducting their propaganda campaign.
Harun said that after several reports were published in the media about S Alam Group's loan withdrawal, posters against S Alam Group were put up in different parts of Dhaka and Chattogram.
Some of the arrestees and conspirators from abroad were behind these posters, according to the DB chief.
A case has been filed against the arrestees at Gulshan Police Station, he said, adding that the group are involved with Jamaat-e-Islami and its student affiliate, Islami Chhatra Shibir.