A court in Sonitpur district, Assam, on Tuesday rejected the bail application of Mahbubul Hoque, the Chancellor of the University of Science and Technology Meghalaya (USTM), in connection with a case related to alleged promises of allowing unfair means in examinations.The Sonitpur Judicial Magistrate First Class, Hriday Jyoti Kashyap, denied Hoque’s bail plea after hearing arguments from both the prosecution and the defense. Government advocate Munin Barua stated that Hoque was arrested under multiple non-bailable sections, following an FIR filed in Dhekiajuli based on a complaint by an individual. Hoque, who joined the court proceedings via video conferencing from Tezpur Central Jail, will now remain in judicial custody.
The case is part of a larger controversy surrounding Hoque, with several cases registered across Assam since last month. Earlier, the Gauhati High Court granted him bail in two cases from Sribhumi district and restrained his arrest in three other cases filed in Gossaigaon, Kokrajhar, and Barpeta. However, the Sonitpur police arrested him again in connection with a separate case registered in the district.Hoque was first arrested in February on charges of promising students the use of unfair means in examinations through his ERD Foundation, which runs several educational institutions, including a school in Patharkandi, Sribhumi district. The allegations led to the arrest of five teachers, who were accused of facilitating out-of-district students to appear for their CBSE Class 12 board exams with assurances of manipulated results.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has been vocal against Hoque, stating that the USTM Chancellor would remain in jail for a long time. He also called him a “big fraud”, alleging that his background was questionable. Hoque was previously embroiled in a controversy over an OBC certificate, which he allegedly obtained fraudulently in the 1990s in Sribhumi district. Last year, the Assam CM also accused USTM and Hoque of contributing to “flood jihad” in Guwahati, claiming that runoff water from the university campus, located on a hill adjacent to the city, was responsible for severe flooding in the region.