Assam government to sue Meghalaya university chancellor for OBC certificate 'fraud' 32 years ago

NEW DELHI: The Assam government will file a case against the chancellor of a private university in Meghalaya for allegedly obtaining an OBC certificate fraudulently from the state's Karimganj district 32 years ago, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said. University of Science and Technology, Meghalaya (USTM) chancellor Mahbabul Haque had obtained a certificate claiming to belong to an Other Backward Class (OBC) in 1992, Sarma said on Wednesday.

However, based on a complaint the same year, the OBC certificate was cancelled in August 1996 as it was found that Haque did not belong to any community to be eligible for it, the CM said. "The district commissioner of Karimganj should have initiated proceedings against him then. Though it was not done then, we will file an FIR against Haque now,” he added.

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Earlier this month, Sarma had held the USTM and Haq, its proprietor and chancellor, responsible for ‘flood jihad’ against Guwahati, claiming that the institute damaged hills on its campus leading to large-scale water logging in Guwahati. The varsity is located on a hill adjacent to the city.