Manikganj Correspondent: An NGO called ‘Drishti Samkay Debandakari’ Cooperative Society has been accused of extorting approximately Tk 30 crores from its customers and running away. According to the Co-operative Societies Act, 2002 (Amended) Banking Activities GPS, FDR Savings Accounts cannot be opened, and deposits can be collected from customers in any manner. However, without paying attention to these regulations, deposits totaling lakhs of rupees have been collected from the simple people of the village in the name of microcredit. The NGO authorities locked the office for quite some time without paying the money to the depositors. The angry customers surrounded the office and blocked him when they saw the owner of the NGO suddenly enter the office while avoiding the eyes of the customers. Fearing for the safety of the property, the owner closed the door of the room from inside. This happened in Madhurchar village, Jamirta union, Singair upazila, on Tuesday morning. Later, after SI Abdus Salam of the Shantipur Police Investigation Center rescued the owner of the NGO with force and promised to return the money to the customers, the situation calmed down.
It is known that in 2002, Bahalul Haque, a resident of that area, formed an NGO named ‘Drshi Samkay Debanakari’ after registration with the Upazila Cooperative Office. He has been running this lending program with field workers. The association currently has more than three hundred subscribers. The NGO’s owner Bahalul, his manager Abdul Aziz, and field worker Russell went missing after locking the office for several days.
A victim named Sharif Uddin of the area said that he deposited 9 lakh taka in this association in the hope of more profit (1 lakh taka). Two women named Taherun and Nehrun said that they also kept 10 lakh taka. Nurjahan Akhtar deposited two and a half lakh and Minuara Begum 90 thousand. Another woman named Sundari Begum said, “Working in other people’s houses, I put all the money in one place and deposited it with Bahalul in the hope of profit.” I am not getting this money now. School teacher Alamgir Hossain said, “They collect savings from us with the temptation of more profit. The common people deposit all their savings in society. About 30 crores of customers have savings in this NGO. The association stopped its activities for a few days. Suddenly, the members of the association disappeared. Another woman named Anecha Begum said that she had deposited 24 lakh taka. They said they could not imagine that Bahalul would do such a thing as a villager.
Accused Bahalul admitted to taking the money and staff absconding and promised to return the money to all. Upazila cooperative officer Arab Ali said that they did not face the audit when it was called for in the 2021–2022 fiscal year. He is also aware of their irregularities. On the other hand, the customers said that in exchange for bribes, the cooperative office knowingly allowed such fraudsters to form societies illegally, which will be known only after investigation.
