Mob forces Rajshahi Medical University VC to resign

A mob allegedly forced Rajshahi Medical University Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Md Jawadul Haque and Section Officer (Finance) Md Nazmul Hossain to resign and leave their offices on Tuesday.

The incident took place around 11:30am at the vice-chancellor’s office, according to university sources. The vice-chancellor alleged that local contractors and outsiders backed by political groups were behind the incident.

According to university sources, a group of outsiders had surrounded the VC’s office since the morning under the banner of “Rajshahir Apamor Chhatra-Jonota”. They reportedly called the vice-chancellor a bribe-taker, corrupt and an ally of the Awami League, and demanded his resignation.

At one point, the group entered the vice-chancellor’s office and allegedly forced him to resign. The section officer was also forced to submit his resignation.

In his resignation letter addressed to the secretary of the Chancellor’s office and the secretary of the Health Education and Family Welfare Division, Prof Jawadul Haque wrote that he was unable to continue as vice-chancellor due to “family and personal reasons” and resigned from the post on October 6.

Nazmul Hossain’s resignation letter carried similar wording. He said he had been working as a section officer (Finance) at Rajshahi Medical University since 2018, but was unable to continue his job due to “family and personal reasons”.

The incident comes amid controversy over the university’s tenders and other administrative issues. A recent media report alleged that a Tk 539 crore tender for construction of Rajshahi Medical University’s 1,200-bed hospital building had been stalled for eight months on the instructions of former health secretary and current public administration secretary Kamruzzaman Chowdhury.

According to the report, three of four contractors were disqualified after failing to meet the technical requirements and after their stipulated tender periods expired, leaving Wahid Construction Limited as the only eligible bidder. The tender evaluation process was subsequently stalled, with the vice-chancellor saying at the time that it had been held up following instructions from the health secretary.

The controversy was followed by protests and various allegations against the vice-chancellor.

Speaking to the media about his resignation, Prof Jawadul Haque said some local contractors and outsiders with political backing suddenly entered his office by force. He said they accused him of giving work to contractors from Dhaka instead of local contractors and chanted slogans calling him an “ally of the Awami League”.

He alleged that the group eventually forced him to sign a resignation letter, removed him from the office and locked the room. The vice-chancellor said he had already informed the local administration about the incident.