Penalised for plagiarism DU teacher Samia says she has been victimised

News Desk :
Dhaka University teacher Samia Rahman says she is the victim of a conspiracy after being penalised by the institution for stealing content in a research paper, repots bdnews24.com.
She made the claim at a press conference on Monday, more than a month after the Dhaka University Syndicate demoted her from associate professor to assistant professor of mass communication and journalism on a charge of plagiarism.
However, Samia said she had been framed on the basis of a “false letter” as part of a plot against her.
The university syndicate also penalised Syed Mahfujul Haque Marjan, lecturer of the criminal science department and co-researcher of Samia, after finding evidence of plagiarism in the study.
As a result of her demotion, Samia will not be eligible to apply for a promotion in the next two years. Marjan, currently on study leave, will also remain in the same post for two years after rejoining work.
In December 2016, Samia and Marjan co-authored an eight-page research paper titled ‘A New Dimension of Colonialism and Pop Culture: A Case Study of the Cultural Imperialism,’

published in the University’s Social Science Review journal.
However, it later emerged that they had plagiarised nearly five pages of an article titled “The Subject and Power” by French philosopher Michel Foucault, published in the University of Chicago’s Critical Inquiry journal in 1982.
Almost a year later in September 2017, the University of Chicago Press sent a written complaint to the Dhaka University authorities over the matter.
Speaking to the media at Dhaka Reporters’ Unity, Samia announced that she will challenge the university’s decision in court.
Samia said, “I became the ultimate victim of vengeance and filthy teachers’ politics at the university.”
“For the last four years, I have been forced to stay quiet due to the investigation and pressure from the university administration. The conspirators have taken advantage of this by spreading propaganda against me. Of course, I am going to the court with full confidence in the judiciary of Bangladesh.”
Samia and Marjan were also accused of copying multiple pages of intellectual Edward Sayed’s book ‘Culture and Imperialism’. In light of the complaints, the university’s Syndicate formed an investigation committee to dig into the allegations. The committee submitted its report in 2019 after a year-long investigation. Although the committee found proof of plagiarism, the report did not recommend action against the two.