Ex VC of Begum Rokeya University
Kalimullah's bail bond Tk 1 lakh deposited, no bar to his release
Nazmul Ahsan Kalimullah, former Vice-Chancellor of Begum Rokeya University. Agamir Somoy.
The bail bond of Nazmul Ahsan Kalimullah, former Vice-Chancellor of Begum Rokeya University (BEROBI), has been submitted in the case of embezzlement of university development funds. The bail bond amounts Tk 1 lakh and on the condition that his passport should also be submitted to the court.
Today (Monday), Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge Shahjahan Kabir permitted the submission of the bail bond after a hearing. Consequently, there is no longer any bar to his release from custody.
In this regard, Kalimullah's lawyer, Mohsin Reza, said that he had obtained bail from the High Court on June 14. The court permitted the submission of the bail bond subject to a surety of Tk 1 lakh and the deposit of his passport. "We have submitted the bail bond. Since there are no other cases against him, there is no legal bar to his release," he added.
On the same day, the court was scheduled to receive the investigation report and the accused was supposed to be present before the court. For this purpose, Kalimullah was produced in court transporting him from jail. After the hearing, he was sent back to jail. Meanwhile, the court set September 23 as the new date for submission of the investigation report.
Earlier, on August 7 last year, Detective Police arrested Kalimullah from his residence in Mohammadpur. On that very day, his bail petition was rejected, and he was sent to jail. Later, on August 27 of the same year, the court granted a five-day remand for him.
The case was filed on June 18, naming Kalimullah and four others as accused in connection with the embezzlement of funds meant for the university's development projects.
According to the case's allegations, the accused, in collusion with one another, committed criminal breach of trust and abused their power by changing the design of the Begum Rokeya University development project, disregarding the approved DPP (Development Project Proposal). They executed contracts worth over Tk 30 crore without obtaining approval from the ministry or department concerned.
The allegations further said that the security deposits deducted from the contractor's running bills were kept in banks as FDRs (Fixed Deposit Receipts). At the same time the university issued No Objection Certificates (NOCs) and acted as a guarantor to allow loans to the contractor against those FDRs, thereby embezzling Tk 4 crore in public funds. Despite there being no provision in the contract for advance payments, they made advance bill payments and released the bank guarantees submitted against those bills before the advances were adjusted.
They also appointed a second consulting firm for the project, bypassing the public procurement rules and disregarding the drawings/designs provided by the first consulting firm. Additionally, they are accused of not evaluating the tenders according to the provisions of PPR 2008, despite the presence of abnormal price submissions known as front-loading.
