Investors of Dhaka Stock Exchange went on a rampage for the fourth day on Wednesday blocking a thoroughfare at Motijheel in the city as the general index of the bourse took a 149-point plunge.
Although the index had gained around 117 points in early trading till 1:00pm, it then started to slide and closed the day 2.19 per cent down at 6,673.40 points.
Hundreds of general investors came out on the road running from Shapla Square to Ittefaq crossing in front of the DSE building and blocked it in protest against the share price slide.
They set fire to woods and papers piled on the road and chanted slogan demanding government action against the chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on finance ministry, AHM Mustafa Kamal.
The demonstrators alleged Mustafa Kamal’s comments on Tuesday that the market would not be corrected until the DSE general index came down to 3,000-4,000 points made way for the bear to reappear.
Investors demanded immediate resignation of Kamal, blaming him for manipulating the market using the shares of his company, CMC Kamal.
The DSE general index that had lost 730 points on Sunday and Monday, prompting investors to rampage through the city’s commercial hub, made an unexpected gain of 428 points in a late rally on Tuesday mainly on finance minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith’s assurance that the market would become stable by this week.
The investors claimed Awami League lawmaker Kamal, who made the comments on the stock market in a meeting on Tuesday afternoon, had a hand in the Wednesday’s market plunge.
Mahiuddin, an investor standing in front of the DSE building, said, ‘He [Kamal] is one of the key players in the stock market conspiracy.’
‘Such a manipulator should be removed immediately from the parliamentary standing committee and brought to book,’ said Akbar, another angry investor.
‘He pocketed a huge profit using CMC Kamal shares and then left the market. Now he wants the index to dive further so that he can get another opportunity to make profit,’ said yet another frustrated investor.
There had been no traffic movement between Shapla Square and Ittefaq crossing from 3:10pm to 4:00pm, when the demonstrators threw brickbats at a bus and a few rickshaws that came into their range.
The agitating investors also demanded immediate resignation of the Securities and Exchange Commission chairman and the DSE president.
The turnover of the DSE also went down to Tk 673 crore on the day from Tk 787 crore on Tuesday as many of the institutional investors who had become active on Tuesday was found reluctant to invest on Wednesday.
The prices of 214 of the total 259 scrip declined, with only 37 managing to advance on the day.
Despite repeated attempts, Mustafa Kamal could not be reached over phone for his response to the allegations made by the investors.
