Fake Loan Promise: Crowd lured to Shahbagh

A crowd, mostly from outside Dhaka, gathered at Shahbagh intersection between Sunday night and yesterday morning after being promised loans of Tk 1 lakh each by an organisation named Non-Violent People's Uprising Bangladesh.

According to attendees, the group claimed it would recover laundered money from abroad and distribute loans. Some attendees were interrogated by Shahbagh police, who are yet to identify anyone directly associated with the organisation. 

Banners featuring the group's leaders, ABM Mostafa Ameen and Rafiqul Islam Hridoy, were seen attached to buses. Police reported that buses, pickups, and microbuses began arriving late Sunday night. Students and locals urged those gathered to leave the area. 

At 12:30pm yesterday, a bus from Fulbaria, Mymensingh, arrived with 32 people. Lipi Akter, who led the group, claimed she contacted the passengers, who were promised loans. Lipi and an associate were reportedly beaten by onlookers before being handed to police. 

Some attendees said they paid Tk 1,000 as a registration fee but were unaware of the event's true nature. 

Shahbagh Police Station's OC AKM Shahabuddin Shaheen said, "We interrogated those involved, releasing the innocent and detaining others connected to the incident." 

Meanwhile, Information Adviser Nahid Islam said yesterday evening that the platform's convener had been detained, and the public was informed that it was a fraudulent campaign.