In the Chanmari area of Thakurgaon district town, a case has come to light involving nearly one crore taka in illegal transactions through the bank account of a young auto-rickshaw driver. He fell into the trap of a fraudulent syndicate. Several other low-income individuals have also been victimized by the same syndicate.
The victim, Alamin, supports his family by driving a battery-run auto-rickshaw. He took up this profession six years ago after losing his father. His modest income sustains his wife and child. He opened a bank account at the behest of his brother-in-law, Sani, and his associate, Mehedi. He was given Tk 500 in return. Later, they took possession of the checkbook and ATM card.
Sometime later, after receiving a legal notice, Alamin went to the bank and discovered that nearly Tk 88 lakh had been transacted through his account. He had no knowledge of this. He subsequently filed a General Diary (GD) at the Sadar Police Station.
A housewife from the same area, Sabina Yasmin, has also fallen victim to similar fraud. The syndicate opened two bank accounts in her name and transacted over Tk 10 lakh within a month.
It has been learned that many residents of South Bathina village in Akcha Union of Sadar Upazila have been ensnared in the same trap as Alamin and Sabina. Two individuals, Mehedi Hasan and Mojibur, formed a syndicate that exploited the simplicity of low-income people. They enticed them with the promise of loans at low interest rates to open multiple bank accounts. Later, they took control of the checkbooks, ATM cards, and mobile SIM cards to conduct illegal transactions.
Sani, the brother-in-law of auto-rickshaw driver Alamin, said he became acquainted with Mehedi Hasan, the mastermind of the syndicate, online. He then built a network. Sani reportedly received Tk 5,000 to Tk 7,000 for each account.
Alamin, the victimized auto-rickshaw driver, said, “I opened the bank account at my brother-in-law’s insistence. They said they needed it for their work. They handed me Tk 500. Then they took the checkbook and card. I am not educated. I did not realize that my own brother-in-law would cause this harm.”
Another victim, Sabina Yasmin, said, “Mehedi had a good relationship with my son. Through that, he used to come to our house. He opened two bank accounts in my name using my documents, saying it was for online work. Later, I saw that many transactions had been made. I am unable to contact Mehedi.”
Victims from South Bathina village said they opened bank accounts hoping to receive loans at low interest rates. Now, about six months later, there is no news of any loan. When these matters came to light, Mojibur and his associate, Jiban, went into hiding.
When contacted over the phone regarding the matter, Jiban said he had gotten into trouble by opening these accounts at Mojibur’s behest.
Attempts were made to contact Mehedi and Mojibur regarding the fraud, but no trace of them could be found. Their mobile phone numbers are switched off, and their social media accounts are also inactive.
Monir Hossain, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Thakurgaon Sadar Police Station, said, “An auto-rickshaw driver named Alamin has filed a complaint. Our investigation is ongoing.” District police have urged the public to be cautious to avoid legal complications.
