Assam court rejects Meghalaya university chancellor's bail plea

TEZPUR: The bail application of Mahbubul Hoque, the chancellor of University of Science and Technology Meghalaya (USTM), was on Tuesday rejected by a court in Sonitpur district of Assam in a case related to promising students to allow unfair means in exams. Sonitpur Judicial Magistrate First Class Hriday Jyoti Kashyap rejected his bail plea after hearing both prosecution and defence arguments.

"The accused was arrested under several non-bailable sections of relevant laws. The police had registered the FIR in Dhekiajuli after receiving a complaint from an individual," government advocate Munin Barua told reporters here. Hoque appeared before the court through video conferencing from Tezpur Central Jail, where his stay has been now prolonged. A series of cases has been registered across the state over the controversy since last month.

The Gauhati High Court earlier this month granted bail to Hoque in connection with the first case registered in Sribhumi, as well as the second one in the same district. The high court also restrained his arrest in three other cases in Gossaigaon, Kokrajhar and Barpeta, but the Sonitpur district police arrested him in connection with another case registered in the district.

Arrest of school teachers

In February, USTM owner and Chancellor Hoque was arrested by Assam Police on charges of promising students to allow unfair means in exams to score high marks through his ERD Foundation, which runs various educational institutions, including a school at Patharkandi in Sribhumi district of Assam.

Five teachers of the school were also arrested following allegations that students from other districts were appearing for their class 12 CBSE board exams there, following assurance of use of unfair means.

Assam CM’s remarks on Hoque

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had earlier remarked that the USTM Chancellor would be in jail for a long time. He had also alleged that Hoque was a "big fraud and his entire background is fraud". Hoque was embroiled in a controversy last year too over his OBC certificate, which he had obtained "fraudulently" in Sribhumi district in the 1990s, Sarma claimed. The Assam CM in August last year had held USTM and Hoque responsible for "flood jihad" against Guwahati, claiming that the water flowing down from the varsity campus, which is located on a hill adjacent to the city, led to repeated massive flooding.