Guwahati: Mahbabul Haque, the Chancellor of the University of Science and Technology, Meghalaya (USTM), has been sent to judicial custody following his arrest on charges of facilitating unfair practices during exams.
Haque, accused of assuring students that they could use unfair means to secure high marks, was remanded to 14-day judicial custody by a local court in Sribhumi district of Assam after a late-night hearing on Saturday.
Along with Haque, five teachers from a school in Patharkandi were also arrested.
The arrests followed allegations that students from other districts were taking their Class-12 CBSE exams at the school, with “assurances of cheating to boost their scores”.
Haque, who also heads the ERD Foundation—responsible for operating several educational institutions, including the Patharkandi school—was apprehended at his residence in Guwahati early on Saturday and taken to Sribhumi.
The five teachers, implicated in the case, were also placed in custody.
The police had requested seven days of custody for the accused, but the court decided on judicial custody with provisions for police questioning if required.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma weighed in on the case, stating that Haque was part of a “large network” that exploits unfair means to secure high marks for students.
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Sarma further criticised Haque, calling him a “big fraud” and questioning his credentials.
Haque had previously attracted controversy over an allegedly fraudulent OBC certificate obtained in Sribhumi district during the 1990s.
The certificate was later revoked, and Sarma had promised legal action in August 2024 for its fraudulent acquisition.
In addition, the chief minister had previously linked Haque and USTM to the “flood jihad” allegations, claiming that the water runoff from the university’s campus, situated on a hill near Guwahati, contributed significantly to the city’s flooding.
