The Chancellor has refuted allegations of financial irregularities, asserting that 80% of students receive free admission under the “Vision 50” initiative
Dr Syed Ali Mujtaba
GUWAHATI — Mahbubul Hoque, the Chancellor of the University of Science and Technology Meghalaya (USTM), who was granted bail in the first case by the Gauhati High Court on Monday (March 3), said “Nobody is targeting me.”
Downplaying the concerns that Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, is gunning for his life, Hoque smilingly said, “Nobody is targeting me.” He insisted that there was no personal vendetta against him, giving the Assam chief minister a clean chit.
Earlier on several occasions, Biswa Sarma had hurled the choicest of abuses against the USTM chancellor, who sports a beard and dons a skull cap.
The chief minister had accused the USTM chancellor of issuing fake degrees and certificates. “I have been telling you for long that this man is a very big fraud. He is all about fraud, his entire background is fraud. He has been trying to mislead the people by bringing a few intellectuals under his influence,” Sarma had publicly said.
Addressing the allegations levelled by the Assam chief minister, Hoque said: “It’s a legal matter and will be argued in the court. The facts will be separated from the fiction in the courtroom.”
Two cases were filed against Hoque, under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections. The first case involves the allegation that he had accepted payments to secure undue advantages for students. The second case carries similar accusations against him and is scheduled for a bail plea hearing later on Tuesday.
The USTM Chancellor has refuted allegations of financial irregularities, asserting that 80% of students receive free admission under the “Vision 50” initiative, a welfare scheme supporting underprivileged students across the Northeast.
“Vision 50 is not a business venture but a part of the ERD Foundation’s mission to guide rural students. There is no question of taking money,” Hoque told reporters outside the trial room, where he was produced for bail.
Responding to claims of examination malpractice, Hoque asserted that while some students attempted to use unfair means, the teachers intervened to prevent it. “We should be awarding our teachers for maintaining integrity, not questioning them,” he said.
Meanwhile, the USTM chancellor’s arrest has also started a political power game between the government of Meghalaya and Assam.
The USTM campus is situated in Ri Bhoi district of Meghalaya, bordering the city of Guwahati in Assam.
Commenting on the USTM controversy, Meghalaya Chief Minister, Conrad Sangma said: “The USTM has done no irregularities. Only the Assam chief minister can say as to what irregularities he is talking about,” he said.
“The fact of the matter is that Hoque has been arrested by Assam Police, not for any irregularities in the documentation of the USTM, but for allegedly promising students to help them in unfair practice to pass the 12th board exams. The USTM has nothing to do with it; it’s a matter that has taken place at a school in Assam, where the USTM is not involved at all, he added.
Chief Minister Sangma further said, “On February 28, police made a request to the Meghalaya police to search the USTM campus at Ri Bhoi district of Meghalaya; but I refused to accept that request.”
______________
Dr Syed Ali Mujtaba can be contacted at syedalimujtaba2007@gmail.com
