Police in force cordoned the head office of the non-governmental organisation -- Samaj Unnayan Karma Sangstha (SUKS) -- as its staff fled the office on Saturday in the face of the clients' agitation.

Boalia police arrested Naimud-din, director of accounts of the SUKS, when he went to the organisation's head office at Sagarpara. He was wanted in a cheating case filed with the Bogra Police Station by a client of the SUKS, police said.

They said there were rumours of cheating against the NGO among its clients and they got enraged when their cheques, issued by the head office, were dishonoured by banks.

About 100 cheques for Tk 21 lakh were issued against 96 field workers to repay savings of several hundred depositors on July 30.

The field workers, along with some 1,000 clients, gathered at the Ghoramara branch of the Janata Bank and Alupotty branch of the Rupali Bank on August 30, the date for drawing the money when the cheques were dishonoured.

The clients also gathered in front of the NGO office and staged a demonstration in front of the deputy commissioner's house.

Established in 1993, the NGO has collected Tk 24 crore from nearly 1.5 lakh clients through 70 branches in Dinajpur, Bogra, Joypurhat, Naogaon, Natore, Chapainawab-ganj and Rajshahi districts.

The NGO, however, paid back about Tk 7 crore to 25,000 clients after their savings matured upto June 30 this year.

Clients deposit Tk 500 and Tk 1,000 a month in two- and ten-year savings schemes to enjoy attractive benefits offered by the NGO which operates without the Bangladesh Bank approval.

Chairman of the NGO's board of directors SAQM Haroon admitted his ignorance of the incident to The Daily Star.

But Executive Director Nazrul Islam in a statement said the NGO authorities were trying to pay back its clients as soon as possible.