Dhaka: A court here today sent to jail former vice chancellor of Begum Rokeya University, Professor Dr. Nazmul Ahsan Kalimullah, in a case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) over embezzlement of funds from the university's development project. Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Md Sabbir Faiz passed the order as police produced Kalimullah before the court after the end of his five-day remand in the case and pleaded to keep him behind bars till the end of the probe.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the court had previously placed Kalimullah on a five-day remand on August 27 in connection with the case. The ACC had filed the case on July 18 against five individuals, including former vice chancellors of Begum Rokeya University, Professor Dr. AKM Nur-un-Nabi and Professor Dr. Nazmul Ahsan Kalimullah. The other accused are former executive engineer of the university Md. Jahangir Alam, and contractors Md. A. Salam Bacchu and M.M. Habibur Rahman.
The case documents reveal that the accused allegedly tampered with the design of the university's development project, ignored the approved Development Project Proposal (DPP), and signed a deal for a project involving over Taka 30 crore without the necessary approval from the ministry or the relevant division.
The documents further claim that the accused facilitated the embezzlement of Taka four crore, which was realized as a security deposit from the contractor. Despite the absence of any law on advance payment in the contract, an advance bill was paid, and the bank guarantees provided against the bill were released before reconciliation. Additionally, a second consulting firm was appointed in violation of the procurement procedures, and the drawings or designs from the first consulting firm were not followed.
Earlier in the day, the same court imposed a travel ban on the five accused, following a plea from the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). The Detective Branch (DB) of police had arrested Professor Kalimullah from his Mohammadpur residence on August 7.