Allegedly instigated by agents of the company, Bangali Shikkhito Samaj, which promised to double deposits in only three months, a large number of clients marched towards Barisal Kotwali Police Station for the release of Mehdi Hassan Doha, owner of the company.

Finding it hard to stymie the desperate clients, police started to club the demonstrators, injuring many and causing unprecedented chaos and long traffic jams at the Bogura Road, Parara Road and Kotwali road crossing. The demonstrators pelted brickbats at police and damaged vehicles, turning the whole area into a virtual battlefield.

Doha was arrested along with his three staff in the morning yesterday after a probe body of the district administration found his company had no legal authority to collect deposits.

Formed in May last year, the company lured in about 26,000 clients, mostly middle class people and the poor, to allegedly garner about Tk 9 crore.

As soon as the news of their arrests spread, hundreds of clients including women rushed to the office of the company on Bogura Road and demanded their money back. The company agents told depositors that it would be impossible for them to refund the money if Doha was not released, as he solely controlled the cash.

The angry depositors then headed towards the police station, where the Officer-in-Charge Mizanur Rahman and Circle Inspector ASM Mizanur Rahman told them over a microphone that the company was illegal and that efforts would be made to recover their deposits.

With the depositors getting more desperate, police then resorted to a baton charge, which also injured Rafiqul Islam, Barisal Correspondent of BDNEWS.

The depositors then dashed towards the deputy commissioner's office and blocked the road for hours.

Sub-inspector Mohammad Nasir later filed a case against 47 people, including the four arrestees and some agents of the company in the afternoon.

The court sent the arrestees to jail and ordered the local authorities to freeze bank accounts of the company.