The man who had led a group in army-like fatigues that descended on the Jadavpur University campus last Wednesday and was arrested late on Saturday has been remanded in police custody.
Police said Quazi Sadeque Hossain, who had introduced himself as general secretary of the “Asian Human Rights Commission”, was arrested after hours of interrogation.
Members of the group claimed on the campus that they were from the army and they also allegedly misused the army’s logo and insignia.
“He failed to give an explanation on the group’s presence at JU and there were several inconsistencies in his statements. Several fake identity cards and letterheads were found in his house in Garden Reach,” said an officer of Kolkata police.
Hossain was produced in the Alipore court on Sunday and sent to police remand till September 3.
The public prosecutor submitted in the court that the accused had led a group of men and women who were in army-like uniform and carried out an act of forgery and fraud like “Debanjan Deb”.
Deb had been arrested in 2021 on the charge of organising a Covid vaccination camp where fake shots were allegedly administered.
He had posed as an IAS officer.
“The police have charged this man (Hossain) under IPC sections dealing with forgery and fraud. He has also been charged under the IPC section related to misuse of uniform,” the police officer said.
Hossain’s lawyer submitted a bail prayer that was rejected.
Kolkata police had started a suo motu case against members of Hossain’s organisation on Thursday, a day after they had entered the JU campus and stationed themselves in the portico of Aurobindo Bhavan, the administrative headquarters of the university.
Hossain entered the building to meet officiating VC Buddhadeb Sau with a proposal to provide security on the campus following the death of a first-year student.
The student had allegedly been ragged and thrown from a second-floor balcony of JU Main Hostel on the night of August 9.
The university initially seemed reluctant to lodge a police complaint against the group. On Friday, two days after the group had entered the campus, JU registrar Snehamanju Basu lodged a complaint against it with Jadavpur police station.
Basu told The Telegraph on Sunday that she was “relieved” that someone had been arrested in the case.
“This has brought a lot of disrepute to the university. They just landed on the campus and we could not react. Later, it emerged that they were not from the army. They were also carrying fake identity cards. It was an awkward situation. We shall remain more alert.”
Sau, who had earlier said he found nothing wrong if a group wanted to provide security on the campus, said on Sunday when asked about the arrest: “The police have done what was required of them. As for me, how do I know their credentials? The university does not have the mechanism to stop anyone. They just came up with a proposal and I heard it. That’s all.”