A Dhaka court on Monday allowed Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to interrogate four trustees of North South University in a case over embezzling over Tk300 crore in the name of land procurement for the campus.
The arrested are Mohammed Shajahan, MA Kashem, Benajir Ahmed and Rehana Rahman.
Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge KM Imrul Qayesh passed the order as police produced the four before the court and ACC pleaded for permission to interrogate them at the jail gate, Shahbagh police station Officer-in-Charge (investigation) Mahfuzul Haque confirmed the development to Dhaka Tribune.
Defence lawyers, however, moved another plea, pleading for first-class status for their clients in jail.
After hearing the pleas, the court allowed the anti-graft body to interrogate the accused for a day within the next seven working days. The court also asked the jail authorities to provide the accused with division as per prison rule.
On Sunday, The High Court denied their anticipatory bail plea and turned them over to the police.
On May 5, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) sued the chairman of the board of trustees of North South University (NSU) Azim Uddin Ahmed, and five others for embezzling Tk 303.82 crore in the name of buying land for the campus.
The investigating officer of the ACC's Deputy Director Farid Ahmed Patwar filed the case.
The other accused is- Ashalaya Housing and Developers Limited Managing Director Amin Mobammad Hilali.
According to the Private University Act, 2010, the Board of Trustees is the highest governing body of a private university like North South University.
According to the Memorandum of Association and Articles (Rules and Regulations) of the University, the University is a charitable, welfare-oriented, non-commercial and non-profit educational institution.
The case states that over 9,088 decimal land was bought in the name of campus development of NSU with the consent of some members of the Board of Trustees bypassing the approval of the University Syndicate, University Grants Commission and the education ministry.
They later withdrew cash from the buyer through cash checks in their own names and kept the FDR in their own names.
They unjustly benefited themselves by committing illegal activities through misuse of power and embezzling university and government funds, according to the case documents.
In carrying out such illegal activities, they have committed a punishable offense by resorting to fraud and forgery and exchanging commissions, it added.
