Major Financial Irregularities in Shibir-Controlled Rajshahi University Central Student’s Union Fund

❐ BD Digest Desk

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After receiving allocations from the Rajshahi University Central Students’ Union (RAKSU) fund for various programs and official expenses, which is controlled by the secret organization Shibir, the funds are supposed to be reconciled by submitting bills and vouchers for the related expenses as per the rules.

However, several student representatives and camp leaders of the current Raksu council did not submit these accounts on time even after receiving the allocation. As a result, the expenditure of large sums of money from the Raksu fund has been in an unbalanced state for a long time.

A review of the documents of the RAKSUR Treasurer’s Office showed that a total of 129,14,689 taka has been allocated for 42 programs. Of this, no bill-voucher has been submitted against 61,50,468 taka.

This means that almost half of the allocated funds have not yet been documented and adjusted.

According to the documents, Salahuddin Ammar, the leader of the Raksur GS secret organization camp, has received the most money. This camp leader, known as ‘Belcha Ammar’, received a total of 23 lakh 88 thousand taka in 7 phases, but the expenditure vouchers for 18 lakh 39 thousand taka have not been deposited.

On the other hand, Shibir leader VP Mostakur Rahman Zahid has been allocated 13 lakh 40 thousand 324 taka in six phases. Of this, only one voucher of 99 thousand 924 taka has been submitted; the remaining 12 lakh 40 thousand 400 taka has not been accounted for yet.

Not only the VP and GS, but also the AGS and some editors of Raksur did not submit the expenditure accounts after receiving the allocation. This raises questions about Raksur’s fund management and financial discipline.

GS allocation is 23 lakh 88 thousand, 18 lakh 39 thousand do not have vouchers

A total of Tk 23 lakh 88 thousand was allocated in the name of Raksur GS Salahuddin Ammar in seven phases. Of this, no voucher was found in the documents for the expenditure of Tk 18 lakh 39 thousand taken in three phases.

This money includes Tk 3 lakh 2 thousand taken on January 15 for setting up booths for the admission test for the 2025-26 academic year, Tk 1.3 lakh 77 thousand taken on January 27 for the budget of Raksu members for January 2026, and Tk 1 lakh 60 thousand taken on April 13 for the official expenses of members.

However, Shibir leader Ammar claimed that showing the entire amount as ‘pending’ is misleading.

He said that vouchers for five out of the six editors of Raksur have been submitted. The entire budget of Tk 13 lakh 77 thousand has been shown as uncoordinated as the voucher of Tk 85 thousand of the science and technology editor is pending.

Ammar also claimed that vouchers worth Tk 3 lakh for the Senate and Hall Representative Conference and Tk 3 lakh 20 thousand for the hospitality have already been submitted.

He also claimed that the 3 lakh 2 thousand taka received for the admission test booth did not come from the Raksu fund.

According to him, the money was given by the university administration. The voucher, which is around 45,000 to 46,000 taka, is pending due to lack of coordination between the administration and Raksu regarding VAT-related issues.

He said that all the vouchers received by him have been submitted and approval has been obtained from the relevant departments, including the Vice-Chancellor, for each withdrawal of funds.

VP took 13 lakh taka but gave an account of 99 thousand

A total of 13 lakh 40 thousand 324 taka has been allocated in six phases to the leader of the Raksur VP secret organization Shibir, Mostakur Rahman Zahid. Out of this, a voucher of 99 thousand 924 taka has been submitted for a program on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha. No voucher has been submitted for the remaining 12 lakh 40 thousand 400 taka.

According to the documents, on April 13, the VP took 1.5 lakh taka for official expenses. Without submitting the account of that amount, on July 19, he again took another 2 lakh taka for official expenses.

Apart from this, Tk 382,400 was charged for the FIFA World Cup football screening on August 3rd and Tk 300,000 was charged for the ‘Victory Run with Raksu’ program on the same day.

On August 6, another 2 lakh 8 thousand taka was allocated for the establishment of the museum. The document states that no vouchers for this money have been deposited.

Attempts were made to contact Shibir leader Mostaqur Rahman Zahid regarding this matter, but he did not answer the call on his mobile phone.

Uncoordinated funding also allocated to AGS and editors

After Shibir leader ‘Belcha Ammar’, the only elected representative from the Chhatra Dal nominated panel, Raksur Sports Secretary Md. Nargis Khatun, has spent the most.

A total of 15 lakh 71 thousand 626 taka has been allocated in the name of Raksur Sports Secretary Ms. Nargis Khatun in seven phases. Out of this, 13 lakh 97 thousand 126 taka vouchers received in four phases have not been deposited.

Of this, 12 lakh 72 thousand 340 taka has been taken in two phases for organizing the Raksu Games. Nargis Khatun said that the related bill has not been submitted yet as the six events that started last month are ongoing.

Raksur Debate and Literature Editor Shibir Leader Imran Laskar has taken 8 lakh 42 thousand 765 taka in six installments. Although vouchers for two transactions have been submitted, there is a shortfall in one of them. The remaining vouchers of 6 lakh 92 thousand taka have not been submitted.

Cultural Affairs Secretary Shibir Leader Zahid Hossain Johar has been charged 7 lakh 95 thousand taka in three installments. Of this, no voucher of 4 lakh 65 thousand taka taken for the July celebration has been deposited.

Information and Research Secretary BM Nazmul Shakib has taken Tk 3 lakh 96 thousand in three installments. The voucher of Tk 3 lakh 10 thousand taken for organizing a workshop on the relevant post on August 6 has not been deposited.

Media and Publications Editor Mujahid Islam has been charged Tk 1,54,448 in three installments. Of this, the voucher for Tk 1,00,000 taken for publication on August 6th has not been found.

Women’s Affairs Secretary of the Student Organization, Sayeeda Hafsa, has taken Tk 1,88,276 in two installments. Of this, the expenditure of Tk 1,35,500 taken for the Women Entrepreneurs Fair organized last May has not been submitted.

Science and Technology Editor Tofail Ahmed Tofa has taken 87,500 taka in two installments. Of this, no voucher of 37,500 taka taken to participate in an education seminar in Nepal on July 1 has been deposited.

Environment and Social Welfare Secretary Abdullah Al Masud took 82,000 taka without mentioning any department on July 26. No voucher was submitted for that amount either.

AGS SM Salman Sabbir took 60,000 taka for official expenses on March 5. In his case too, the expenditure account of that money has not been submitted.

Apart from this, there is information in the documents that 1 lakh 23 thousand 750 taka was taken to buy a computer set and a printer. However, it could not be confirmed who took the money. No account has been deposited for this money either.

Treasurer calls for prompt voucher submission

Raksur Treasurer Professor Setaur Rahman said, “It is the rule to submit vouchers for the related expenses immediately after the completion of any program. As some bills and vouchers have not been submitted yet, those concerned have been asked to submit them as soon as possible in accordance with the rules.”

University Vice-Chancellor Professor Faridul Islam also said that the matter had come to his attention. According to his comments, according to the university’s rules, before taking a new allocation, vouchers for the previous allocation have to be submitted and reconciled.

The Vice Chancellor said that he has already instructed the Raksu treasurer to quickly reconcile the previous accounts. The matter is being looked into seriously as a large amount of money has been in an unbalance state for a long time.

He also said that although he is currently in Dhaka on an institutional assignment, the monitoring of the matter will be further strengthened through the Raksu Treasurer upon his return to Rajshahi.

He mentioned that although the treasurer has the primary responsibility, it is also his responsibility to monitor the matter as the president of Raksur.

The Raksu elections were held on October 16 last year. In the elections, Shibir-backed panel candidates won 20 out of 23 posts in the central parliament. Candidates from other panels were elected to the posts of GS, Sports and Science and Technology Secretary.