On 21st February, Assam Police arrested the founder and Chancellor of the University of Science and Technology, Meghalaya (USTM), Mahbubul Hoque, from his residence in Guwahati. He has been arrested based on a complaint filed against him in Sribhumi district, linked to alleged disturbances during the CBSE Class 12 physics examination at a school affiliated with his foundation.
Law and order situation at Patharkandi school
According to police reports, the incident took place during the CBSE Class 12 exam at the Central Public School in Patharkandi. The school is operated by the Education and Research Development Foundation of Hoque. Reportedly, out of 274 students who appeared for the exam, 214 were enrolled in Vision 50, a special coaching programme run by USTM. It has been alleged that these students created a “law and order situation,” claiming they were promised “necessary assistance” by invigilators to clear the exam. However, they did not receive any such assistance.
Speaking to The Indian Express, a senior police official said, “Prima facie, it seems to be a case of massive criminal conspiracy having a larger sinister design.”
It has been alleged that students were assured assistance in the 30-mark MCQ section of their CBSE Class 12 exams in the school in Patharkandi. However, when external invigilators refused to comply with the conspiracy, the students protested, leading to chaos. The angry students locked the students inside, leading to a law and order situation, and the police had to be called. When police arrived to calm the situation, the real conspiracy was exposed.
Mahbubul Haque was arrested from his residence in Guwahati’s Ghoramara in the intervening night of February 21 and 22 by a police team comprising Panbazar Police and Special Task Force (STF) of the Assam Police.. A case has been registered in the case.
Notably, Hoque’s Education and Research Development Foundation runs several educational institutions, including the University of Science and Technology, Meghalaya, on the outskirts of Assam.
Arrest follows repeated attacks by Assam CM
Notably, a few days ago, the Chief Minister of Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma, laid fresh allegations against Hoque, suggesting that USTM was a “fraudulent” institution issuing “fake certificates and degrees.” The university, however, dismissed the claim, saying it was “unfounded.”
CM Sarma, in August last year, accused the university of being involved in construction activities that led to flash floods in Guwahati. He used the term “flood jihad” to allege that deforestation and hill-cutting by USTM led to the floods.
He also criticised the architectural design of the university’s main gate, which features three domes. He said, “It’s embarrassing to go there, you have to go under ‘Mecca’.” He suggested that a namghar (a Hindu community prayer hall) and a church should also be included. “They have kept a ‘Mecca’ there. Let them make a namghar, make a church. We will walk under all three, why will we walk under just one?” he had stated.
He had also threatened to file an FIR against Hoque, accusing him of wrongly obtaining an OBC certificate in 1992.
