A three-member probe committee formed by the University Grants Commission (UGC) started investigating the allegations including corruption in teacher recruitment brought against the Islamic University (IU) Vice-Chancellor (VC) Prof Dr Shaikh Abdus Salam on Monday.

The probe body led by the commission’s member Prof M Abu Taher included its public management division additional director M Fazlur Rahman and the public management division’s deputy director Muhammad Yousuf Ali Khan.

Campus sources said that the probe body met IU VC Prof Shaikh Abdus Salam, Pro VC Prof M Mahbubur Rahman, Treasurer Prof M Alamgir Hossain Bhuiya and teachers of different teacher associations.
The team, as part of its investigation, investigated the important files and documents as well as the audio clips that went viral on the social media Facebook from 16 February to 13 June last year.

On 11 January, UGC formed the probe body against the IU VC Shaikh Abdus Salam to investigate the allegations of various corruption cases brought against him, including teacher recruitment anomaly.
IU acting registrar HM Ali Hasan filed a general diary on 17 February with IU police station after an audio clip, containing a conversation between the VC and a jobseeker from IU Mass Communication and Journalism department, had gone viral on 16 February.

In an audio conversation, shared from a Facebook account named Farah Jebin on 8 March, VC Abdus Salam was heard saying to a person over the phone that he would make his relative first or second in the university’s Economics department recruitment board.
The university’s teachers’ association and Awami League-backed teachers’ alliance Shapla Forum submitted a written petition seeking an explanation from the VC regarding the leaked audio conversations on 18 February.

Later, the forum also sought the prime minister’s intervention regarding the issue.
UGC member M Abu Taher said that they were investigating the allegations of corruption against IU VC. The ministry concerned would take action against the VC if any corruption brought against him were proven.