HC orders arrest of 4 NSU trustees in graft case

The High Court (HC) on Sunday ordered Shahbagh police to arrest four members of North South University (NSU) Trustee Board in a case lodged over alleged embezzlement of Tk 303.82 crore.

The court also scrapped a plea filed by the same four individuals for anticipatory bail in connection with the case.

The court ordered police to arrest them immediately and produce before the trial court within 24 hours.

The four accused are- MA Kashem, Benajir Ahmed, Rehana Rahman and Mohammed Shajahan.

A High Court division bench comprising Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Kazi Md Ejarul Haque Akondo passed the order after holding hearing on the bail plea.

Senior jurists AF Hasan Arief, Md Eusuf Hossain Humayun, Barrister Azamalul Hossain QC and Barrister MD Mizan Sayeed argued for the bail plea, while senior Advocate Md Khurshid Alam Khan appeared for the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).

Attorney General AM Amin Uddin, Additional Attorney General Sheikh Mohammad Morshed and Deputy Attorney General AKM Amin Uddin Manik took part in the hearing for the state.

On May 5, the ACC lodged a case against six individuals including five board of trustees of North South University (NSU) for embezzling around Tk304 crore.

According to the case statement, the trustees approved a hefty amount for the NSU permanent campus by overstating the land price. Subsequently, the land developer deposited the extra money to the bank accounts of the accused, leading to the embezzlement.

The accused have unjustly benefited themselves by embezzling funds and have committed punishable offenses by exchanging commissions or bribes, states the case.

Money laundering also took place through the transfer and conversion of the embezzled amount, according to the ACC.

The anti-graft watchdog said it will also initiate separate inquiry to verify several allegations against NSU such as overcharging students, embezzlement of university funds in the name of fixed-deposit receipts, bribe for recruitments, car purchases by evading duties and availing numerous facilities unethically by the university top management.