A case has been filed over allegedly forcing Rajshahi Medical University (RMU) Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Md Jawadul Haque and his personal secretary Section Officer Nazmul Hossain to sign resignation letters at gunpoint.

Nazmul Hossain, the VC’s personal secretary, filed the case with Rajpara police station in Rajshahi city on Tuesday night accusing 50-60 unidentified people.

Police later arrested Abdus Salam, vice-president of Rajpara thana BNP, from his residence in the Paramedical area of the city in connection with the case.

Rajshahi Metropolitan Police spokesperson Deputy Commissioner Gaziur Rahman said Nazmul filed the case over the alleged forced resignation, obstruction of government duties, intimidation, physical assault, looting of government property and confinement at the university.

After the case was recorded, police arrested Salam late at night and are trying to identify and arrest other accused persons by examining video footage, he said.

Meanwhile, university officials and employees formed a human chain on Wednesday protesting the alleged humiliation, assault, threats to the VC’s life and forcing him to sign a resignation letter.

The campus has remained tense since the incident, while officials and employees said they were unable to perform their duties despite attending the campus.

“An environment conducive to work has not been created at the university. The entire campus remains tense. Following such an incident involving the head of the university, everyone is feeling insecure,” said Deputy Registrar Dr Md Mofakhharul Islam.

On Tuesday, leaders and activists of BNP and its affiliated Krishak Dal allegedly entered the VC’s office and forced him to sign a resignation letter prepared by them.

He was subsequently removed from his office.

When his personal secretary Nazmul Hossain tried to protect the VC he was also assaulted and forced to sign a resignation letter.

Talking to reporters later, VC Dr Jawadul Haque said some people backed by contractors and political groups had earlier held a human chain demanding his resignation.

“They would often ask me for contract work. Their demand was that I forcibly arrange work for them,” he said.

“At around 11:30am yesterday, they suddenly forced their way into my office. They accused me of giving work to a contractor from Dhaka instead of them. At one point, they humiliated me by calling me an Awami League accomplice. They created a mob, snatched my mobile phone and, threatening to kill me, forced me to sign a resignation letter they had prepared,” he said.

The VC said the group then removed him from the office and locked it after obtaining his signature.

“A person cannot be forced to resign like this. But there is no situation in which I can return to the office. They confined my personal secretary Nazmul Hossain and subjected him to mental and physical harassment. They also took away the hard disk of the office’s CCTV system and the CPU of a computer. This is not a resignation through any lawful process; it is an act of terrorism,” he said.

Nazmul Hossain said the attackers were armed.

“They had weapons. They forced me to sign while holding weapons against me. This was not a resignation; it was done at gunpoint,” he said.

Several attempts were made to contact Sharafuzzaman Shamim, convener of the Rajshahi city unit of Krishak Dal, for his comments, but he did not respond.

Meanwhile, doctors from different levels of the profession held a protest meeting and human chain in front of Rajshahi Medical College Hospital on Wednesday morning, protesting the alleged forcing of the RMU VC to resign through mob.

Under the banner of the medical community of Rajshahi, the protesters demanded legal action against those involved in the incident.