Rajshahi University (RU) Pro-Vice Chancellor Prof Choudhury Zakaria. Photo: Collected

An audio clip of a conversation between Rajshahi University (RU) Pro-Vice Chancellor Prof Choudhury Zakaria and a job seeker's wife went viral on social media from last night.

Prof Zakaria made a phone call to the wife of the lecturer candidate of law department and allegedly tried to fix the amount of money for the recruitment.

In the 41-second audio clip, Prof Zakaria introduces himself as Pro-vice chancellor of RU and said, "… Maa (mother), please tell me; I am interested to know how much money are you ready to pay? Please speak the truth...”

In reply, the woman said, "... Sir, honestly speaking. You know his (candidate) condition. Another thing, he is a person of strict principle…”

Later, Zakaria ended the conversation saying, "Drop the matter, we cannot discuss it here.”

Prof Zakaria could not be reached for his comments as he did not respond to the phone call of our RU correspondent.

Later in the afternoon, Prof Zakaria issued a written statement through the university’s public relation office, acknowledging that he made the conversation.

In the statement, Zakaira also claimed that, the candidate has come from a poor family of his (Pro-VC) village in Lalmonirhat. “Therefore, he (Pro-VC) helped him as a local guardian in Rajshahi."

"But I came to know that he (job seeker) got involved with some people to get the job through illegal dealing. To verify this information, I made the call as a local guardian. She even confessed about the illegal dealing without disclosing detailed information," Zakaria said in the statement.

"The conversation is being used as a conspiracy against me,” the Pro-VC added.