Former BRUR VC Nazmul Ahsan Kalimullah Arrested

Detective Branch police arrested Dr. Nazmul Ahsan Kalimullah, former Vice-Chancellor of Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur (BRUR) and professor of Public Administration at Dhaka University, from Mohammadpur in the capital on Thursday, August 7, 2025. Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s (DMP) Media and Public Relations Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Talebur Rahman confirmed the arrest.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed a case against Kalimullah and four others on June 18, 2025, for irregularities in BRUR’s development project. The accused include former BRUR Vice-Chancellor and project director AKM Nur-un-Nabi, former executive engineer and tender evaluation committee member secretary Md. Jahangir Alam, and contractors Md. Abdus Salam Bachchu and MM Habibur Rahman.

The case alleges that the accused colluded to misuse authority and breach trust by altering the approved Development Project Proposal (DPP) design, executing contracts worth over Tk 30 crore without ministry approval, and misappropriating approximately Tk 4 crore. They allowed contractors to secure bank loans using security deposits held as FDRs, issued a “no objection certificate” for these loans, and released bank guarantees before bill settlements, violating regulations. Additionally, they appointed a second consulting firm, ignoring the first firm’s design and breaching the Public Procurement Rules (PPR 2008). The case also cites failure to properly evaluate tenders with abnormal front-loading bids.

Kalimullah’s tenure as BRUR Vice-Chancellor (2017–2021) was controversial, with prior allegations of absenteeism, favoritism, and corruption, including 45 complaints investigated by the UGC in 2019. He also faced a 2022 Digital Security Act case for defamatory remarks during the Cumilla City Corporation election.