A Dhaka court has placed Md Shafique Nazrul, who was arrested in connection with an alleged fraud scheme involving promises of guaranteed success in the Bangladesh Bar Council examination, on a four-day remand for further interrogation.
The order was issued on Tuesday by Metropolitan Magistrate Ariful Islam of Dhaka. The development was confirmed by public prosecutor Harun Or Rashid. Earlier, the investigating officer in the case, Sub-Inspector Abdullah Al Mamun of Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station, had sought a seven-day remand to question the accused.
During the hearing, the investigating officer told the court that the accused had allegedly been misleading Bar Council examination candidates for a considerable period through eye-catching promotional campaigns. According to the prosecution, a network operated under the promise of ensuring success in the Bar Council examination in exchange for substantial sums of money. Investigators argued that custodial interrogation was necessary to uncover the identities of other members of the alleged syndicate and to trace the full extent of the financial transactions involved.
Lawyers representing the accused opposed the remand request and urged the court to reject it. They maintained that Shafique Nazrul merely provided examination suggestions and guidance to candidates before the tests. The defence insisted that he had no involvement in any fraudulent activity or illicit financial dealings.
Addressing the court, public prosecutor Harun Or Rashid argued that a coordinated fraud ring had been operating by exploiting candidates’ aspirations and spreading misleading claims regarding examination outcomes and professional qualification processes. He contended that questioning the accused in remand was essential for obtaining critical information about the alleged scheme.
With the court’s permission, Shafique Nazrul also spoke during the proceedings. He denied all allegations of fraud, claiming that his role was limited to providing examination-related suggestions to aspiring candidates. He described the accusations against him as false and unfounded.
According to the case documents, a Facebook page named “Law Doctor” allegedly targeted Bar Council candidates by claiming that practising a specific set of questions would guarantee success in the examination. Investigators say such promotional claims were used to attract candidates and persuade them to make payments in exchange for assurances of passing the examination.
One complainant alleged that he was asked to pay Tk 800,000 and subsequently handed over Tk 405,000 in instalments. After failing the examination, he reportedly realised that he had been deceived and later filed the case.
Police have indicated that similar allegations have emerged from several other individuals who claim to have paid money under comparable assurances. Investigators are now examining whether the operation involved a wider network and whether additional victims may have been affected.
The case has drawn attention to concerns surrounding misleading advertisements and unauthorised coaching claims targeting professional examination candidates. Bar Council examinations are highly competitive, and allegations of guaranteed success schemes have frequently raised concerns among legal professionals and regulatory authorities.
In a separate development on the same day, the court also ordered that Shafique Nazrul be shown arrested in another case filed by Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station. That case stems from a complaint lodged by an Additional Director of the Bangladesh Bar Council. The complaint alleges that candidates were misled through an online platform operating under the cover of a coaching centre, using promotional tactics that created false expectations regarding examination success.
The investigation into both cases remains ongoing as authorities seek to determine the scale of the alleged fraud, identify any accomplices and establish the full extent of financial transactions connected to the operation.
