At least six employees of Islami Bank were injured as unidentified attackers opened fire while a group of bank officials tried to resist another group of staff from storming into the bank鈥檚 head office at Dilkusha in the capital on Sunday.
All the injured bankers, three in serious condition, were admitted to a hospital in the capital.聽
One of the fighting groups included bankers appointed after 2017 and loyal to S Alam Group owner Saiful Alam, and the other group included bankers appointed before 2017 when S Alam Group, with the backing of the Awami League-led government, took over Islami Bank.
Since the fall of AL-government on August 5 amid mass uprising following a student-led movement across the country, tension mounted among the two groups.
Tension escalated further when older employees declared that those appointed after the 2017 takeover, mostly from Chittagong鈥檚 Patiya upazila where S Alam Group owner Saiful Alam was from, would not be allowed to enter the bank headquarters.
A clash occurred in front of the headquarters when older employees tried to resist the employees loyal to S Alam Group from entering the head office at about 11:00am, witnesses said.
Unidentified attackers opened fire during the clash when at least six bankers, all old employees appointed before 2017 takeover, were wounded, they said.
A senior Islami Bank official said that older officials took position in front of the bank to prevent employees linked to S Alam from entering the bank.
When resisted, the individuals linked to S Alam opened fire, injuring six employees, all of whom were now in critical condition, he claimed.
The individuals linked to S Alam fled after facing resistance from the bank鈥檚 older employees, officials said.
Following the clash, the older employees staged demonstration inside the bank and demanded removal of its top management linked to S Alam and their punishment for 鈥榣ooting the bank鈥�.
None of the top management of Islami Bank could be reached for comments over telephone.
Finance and planning adviser Salehuddin Ahmed, meanwhile, said on Sunday that the people involved in the clashes and opening fire in front of Islami Bank would be brought to book soon.
The bank鈥檚 CBA leader Anisur Rahman announced that the executives appointed after 2017 takeover would no longer be allowed to enter the establishment.
The bank witnessed a significant deterioration in financial health after the S Alam Group takeover.
Allegations have surfaced that S Alam Group withdrew substantial funds from the bank after the ownership change, resulting in a deficit in its current account at the Bangladesh Bank.
On August 7, Islami Bank blocked around Tk 892 crore in withdrawal requests made by anonymous individuals allegedly connected to the S Alam Group.
The Group had reportedly lifted more than Tk 30,000 crore from Islami Bank. The amount was way beyond the group鈥檚 entitlement. As per rules, the group was entitled to borrow maximum Tk 215 crore from the Islami Bank.
Employees of Social Islami Bank PLC also called for the dissolution of the board, reportedly controlled by the S Alam Group, during a human chain protest in front of the National Press Club in Dhaka on Sunday.
