A manager of the Pakshi branch of Janata Bank in Ishwardi, Pabna, has gone missing along with Tk 1.3 crore. He was last seen leaving the bank with the cash on Sunday (October 5) afternoon, and no trace of him has been found since.
A general diary (GD) has been filed at Ishwardi Police Station in connection with the incident. The missing manager, Khaled Saifullah, 45, is the son of Abdul Gafur Sheikh and resides on Hospital Road in Ishwardi municipality.
According to the GD filed by Md Mohsanatul Haque, Assistant General Manager of the bank’s Ishwardi corporate branch, Khaled visited the corporate branch around 11:30 am on Sunday to collect a cash remittance. He had requested Tk 1.3 crore over the phone the previous day, Saturday.
On Sunday, at 11:15 am, Khaled withdrew Tk 30 lakh from the bank’s Dashuria Bazar branch. Later, he received an additional Tk 1 crore from the Pakshi branch at 11:35 am at the Ishwardi corporate branch. Ansar member Mahbub was present during the cash handover.
After completing the necessary vouchers and registers, Khaled and Mahbub left for the Pakshi branch at 11:45 am with Tk 1.3 crore in a private car driven by Md. Ismail Hossain. Although Khaled was supposed to deposit the cash at the branch, his mobile phone has been unreachable since then, according to bank official Mohsanatul. At around 3:30 pm, Mohsanatul phoned the Pakshi branch’s assistant manager and confirmed Khaled had still not arrived. Later, the bank officials contacted the local police outpost, which advised them to file a GD at the police station.
Shahinur Rahman, manager of Janata Bank’s Dashuria Bazar branch, confirmed that Khaled withdrew Tk 30 lakh from their branch at 11:15 am and that the cash was handed over according to bank procedures.
Ansar member Mahbub said that after withdrawing the cash, Khaled stopped the car in front of BRAC Bank in Ishwardi and asked him to get down. Mahbub complied, and Khaled then drove off with the vehicle.
Khaled’s wife, Dilruba Begum, said he left home for work as usual in the morning. Later in the afternoon, officials from the Ishwardi corporate branch informed her that her husband was missing. Since then, his mobile phone has been switched off. She added that it is unclear whether he left voluntarily or was abducted.
Officer-in-Charge of Ishwardi Police Station, ASM Abdun Noor, said the police were informed about the cash withdrawal by bank authorities. He confirmed that the matter is under investigation and legal action will be taken accordingly.