Nazmul Ahsan Kalimullah- Photo: Collected

DHAKA, Aug 7, 2025 (BSS) - A court here today sent former vice chancellor of Begum Rokeya University, Professor Dr. Nazmul Ahsan Kalimullah, to jail in a case filed over embezzlement of funds from the university's development project.

Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Md. Zakir Hossain Galib passed the order as police produced him before the court and the investigation officer pleaded to keep him behind bars until the end of the probe.

The ACC on July 18 filed the case against five individuals, including former vice chancellors of Begum Rokeya University, Professor Dr. AKM Nur-un-Nabi and Professor Dr. Nazmul Ahsan Kalimullah. The three other accused are former executive engineer of the university Md. Jahangir Alam, and contractors Md. A. Salam Bacchu and M.M. Habibur Rahman.

According to the case documents, the accused allegedly tampered with the design of the university's development project, ignored the approved Development Project Proposal (DPP), and signed a deal for a project involving over Taka 30 crore without the approval of the ministry or the relevant division.

"They also facilitated the embezzlement of Taka four crore, realized as a security deposit from the contractor, of the government. Despite there being no law on advance payment in the contract with the contractor, the advance bill was paid and the bank guarantees given against the bill were released before the advance bill was reconciled. A second consulting firm was appointed outside the rules of the procurement procedure in the government sector, without following the drawings or designs provided by the first consulting firm," it added.

Meanwhile, the same court earlier in the day imposed a travel ban on the five accused in the same case. The court passed the order, allowing a plea from the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).

The Detective Branch (DB) of police today arrested Professor Kalimullah from his Mohammadpur residence.