Protest continues outside Motijheel Islami Bank as calls grow for chairman’s removal

Bangla Press Desk:    Members of the Conscious Customer Forum have continued protesting outside Islami Bank’s headquarters in Motijheel for a second straight day, demanding the resignation of newly appointed Chairman Khurshid Alam.

The protest continued on Tuesday from around 9am outside Islami Bank Tower in Dilkusha, with demonstrators also calling for Bangladesh Bank Governor Mostaqur Rahman to step down.

At 9:30am, forum members began delivering speeches over loudspeakers as slogans rang out across the area.

Law enforcers have cordoned off Dilkusha, deploying water cannon, armoured vehicles and additional forces to keep the situation under control.

The protesters labelled Khurshid an associate of the Chattogram-based S Alam Group and demanded his immediate removal.

They insisted that individuals who served on the board before the conglomerate took control of the bank in 2017 must be reinstated to management.

On May 24, Bangladesh Bank appointed Khurshid, a former deputy governor, as chairman of Islami Bank.

His appointment triggered the initial protest on Monday morning, when a group under the Conscious Customer Forum banner gathered outside the bank office.

That day, protesters also demanded the reinstatement of former chairman Zubaidur Rahman and managing director Omar Faruk Khan.

Police dispersed the crowd before 10am using tear gas and water cannon, but demonstrators later returned and resumed their protest.

The agitation forced the authorities to shift Monday afternoon's scheduled board of directors meeting online, though opposition from the protesters initially stalled the virtual session.

At night, a virtual meeting took place with the participation of Khurshid and four independent directors.

The bank's Managing Director (Current Charge) Altaf Husain and Company Secretary Habibur Rahman, however, skipped the virtual session.

When asked if the meeting would stand as an official board session despite their absence, Khurshid told bdnews24.com that he tried to bring the acting managing director and company secretary into the meeting, but could not reach them.

He added that he heard the clients who campaigned during the day had already lodged objections to their participation in the board meeting.

The meeting later decided that additional managing director Altaf would continue as acting managing director.