Published : 12 Jul 2009, 03:15 PM
Updated : 12 Aug 2022, 01:26 PM
During the hearing of a case on July 2, the lawyer for the plaintiff had asked Barakat, also the general secretary of Bangladesh Arthoniti Samiti, if he had published the report he had written with two other researchers in his name.
The lawyer also showed him a copy of the 2004 letter that had warned him about the plagiarism and which the Dhaka University authorities had sent him.
But Barakat told the court that he never received such a letter.
bdnews24.com investigation found that another Dhaka University teacher of the same department, Barkat-e-Khuda, researcher Javed Hilali and Barakat prepared a research report on sustainable development of the country's agriculture in 1991.
In 1997, Barakat published part of the report in the university's 'Social Science Review' in his name, without giving credit to the other researchers. He did not even mention them in the reference.
Barkat, one of the other two researchers, later took up the issue with the university authorities who formed a fact-finding committee in 2004 with then the pro-vice chancellor professor AFM Yusuf Haider as convener.
The committee found the allegations true but the university did not punish Barakat, because by that time Barkat had agreed not to pursue the issue anymore on condition that Barakat would admit to the guilt and apologise, professor Haider told bdnews24.com.
The university's 1973 constitution considers such act equal to morale turpitude and Barakat could lose his job for the offence, a member of the fact-finding committee said, requesting not to be named.
Following the agreement between Barakat and Barkat, the university's highest policymaking body, the syndicate, in its July 24, 2004 meeting warned Barakat for the immoral act.
A letter, dated Aug 18, 2004 and signed by then the deputy registrar Nurunnabi, said Barakat had confessed to his guilt and apologised before the committee that it had been improper on his part to publish part of the joint research report in his name alone.
Copies of the letter were sent to the dean of the social sciences faculty, chairman of the economics department and to the complainant.
When reached by bdnews24.com, Barakat, however, said that he had not received any such letter and that he had first seen it when the lawyer had shown it to him in the court.
He said that he had published part of the research report which he himself had done and that he did not see any problem with publishing that.
Barakat said that some jealous people were taking advantage of a complication over the research firm co-owned by 'his and Barkat's wives' to malign him.
He added that before the professor Haider-led committee, a one-member committee was formed to look into the allegation in 1999-2000 with then the pro-vice chancellor professor Shahadat Ali, but it had found nothing wrong.
