Guwahati: Assam Police arrested the owner, Mahbubul Hoque, of the University of Science and Technology, Meghalaya (USTM)- a private educational institution here that has been facing several attacks by the BJP-ruled states Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma himself. The CM attacked the institution and its owner using allegations including ‘flood jihad’, The Indian Express reported.
Hoque has been arrested over a case charged with “massive criminal conspiracy having a larger sinister design”. A senior police officer confirmed that Hoque was arrested from his residence on Friday in connection with the case registered in the state's Sribhumi district.
According to police, a “law and order” situation had arisen at the Central Public School in the Patharkandi area of Sribhumi district during the CBSE class 12 physics examination held on Friday.
Police allege that a “law and order” situation arose at the Central Public School in the Patharkandi area of the district where a CBSE class 12 physics examination was going on Friday. At the school, which is run by the Education and Research Development (ERD) foundation founded by Hoque, 274 students appeared for the exam, and 214 out of them were enrolled in Vision 50, a special coaching programme. Police allege that these students “created the law and order situation” and that when they enrolled in the special programme, they were promised “necessary assistance” from the examination invigilators, but they did not receive it.
The senior official claimed that prima facie, there is a case of a massive criminal conspiracy that has a larger sinister design.
Hoque was arrested only days after the Assam CM attacked him as well as USTM. The CM alleged that USTM is “fraudulent” and that it has been issuing fake certificates and degrees to students, but the university had dismissed the allegations as “unfounded”.
In August last year, CM Sarma used the term ‘flood jihad’ to claim that the USTM caused the floods in Guwahati. He claimed construction, hill-cutting, and deforestation inside the campus caused the flood.