A Pabna court on Sunday granted bail to 12 farmers who were arrested for defaulting loans taken from a government bank.

Pabna Senior Judicial Magistrate Court-2 Shamsuzzaman passed the order after hearing a bail petition, said Advocate Saidur Rahman Sumon who stood for the accused accompanied by two other lawyers.

Those who secured bail are: Nure Box, 45; Alam Promanik, 50; Mahatab Mandal, 45; Kitab Ali, 50; Hannan Miah, 30; Mohammad Majnu, 40; Mohammad Atiur Rahman, 50; Shamim Hossain, 45; Samad Promanik, 43; Mohammad Akram, 46; Abdul Goni Mondal, 50; and Rajob Ali, 40.

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All the farmers are residents of Chhalimpur union under Ishwardi upazila of the district.

According to the case statement, a group of farmers – 37 in total – took loans ranging from Tk 25,000 to 40,000 from a branch of Bangladesh Samabaya Bank Ltd in the district in 2016.

Later, branch Manager Syed Moazammel Hoque Mahmud filed a case against the farmers for defaulting on loans in 2021.

On November 23 this year, a Pabna court issued arrest warrants against the defaulting farmers. Police arrested 12 out of the 37 farmers on Friday. The rest remained absconding since the arrest warrant was issued.

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The court asked the absconding farmers to surrender before the court in this connection, the lawyers added.

The arrest warrants and the arrest of the farmers raised uproar on social media and surprised people in the country.