GUWAHATI, Feb 23: The chancellor of the University of Science and Technology, Meghalaya (USTM), Mahbubul Hoque, arrested on charges of promising students to allow unfair means in exams, has been remanded to judicial custody by a local court in Sribhumi district of Assam.
Hoque, along with five teachers of a school in Patharkandi of the district, were sent to 14 days in judicial custody after a late-night hearing by the local court on Saturday, advocates appearing in the case said on Sunday.
The USTM chancellor, who also runs the ERD Foundation that operates various educational institutions, including a school in Patharkandi, was arrested from his Guwahati residence in the early hours on Saturday and taken to Sribhumi.
The five teachers of the school were also arrested after allegations emerged on Friday that students from other districts were appearing for their Class 12 CBSE board exams there, following “assurance of use of unfair means for them to score high marks”.
“Police had sought seven days of custody for the accused. But, the court ruled that the accused be sent to judicial custody with the police to question them in jail if needed,” one of the advocates said.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, commenting on Hoque’s arrest, had said he was aware of a “large network”, which promises students high marks through unfair means.
He claimed that such fraud measures were not limited to CBSE-conducted exams, but taking place in medical entrance exams as well.
Sarma also alleged that Hoque is a “big fraud, 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 had said in August 2024 that a police case would be registered against the USTM chancellor for allegedly fraudulently obtaining the OBC certificate, which was subsequently cancelled.
The chief minister had also held the USTM and Hoque responsible for “flood jihad” against Guwahati, asserting that the water flowing down from the varsity campus, which is located on a hill adjacent to the city, leads to massive flooding.
The Meghalaya government has remained silent regarding the arrest of the USTM chancellor.
None of the state ministers have commented on the matter, and Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma has also refrained from making any statements.
While ministers have avoided speaking on the issue, an official from the Education department stated that the matter pertains to Assam and is beyond the Meghalaya government’s jurisdiction.
“He was picked up in Assam. This involves issues in Assam, and we have nothing to do with it,” the official said.
The Meghalaya BJP, which has backed the Assam chief minister in his criticism of USTM, has reiterated that the Meghalaya government must clarify whether the university is a private or government institution.
