Dhaka University (DU) has punished 64 students from different departments and institutes for exam cheating and other offences, including a Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) leader and an elected hall union member.

The two are Fathun Karib Chowdhury, a member of the convening committee of the JCD unit at Muktijoddha Ziaur Rahman Hall, and Md Ferdaus, an executive member of the Haji Muhammad Mohsin Hall Union. Both study Mass Communication and Journalism.

The university disclosed the disciplinary action in an order signed by Acting Exam Controller Dr Himadri Shekhar Chakraborty on September 7. The decisions were approved at a Syndicate meeting on August 31 based on recommendations from the Discipline Council.

University sources said Fathun was barred from three consecutive examinations after allegedly using Google Gemini during an exam on June 11. He allegedly used a phone hidden between his legs to search for answers. His script was seized at 10:17am, and two lines were later found to match an answer generated by Gemini.

Ferdaus, a student of the department’s 18th batch, was given an “Exam + 1” punishment for allegedly using ChatGPT during an examination. He reportedly left the exam hall claiming he needed to use the washroom, took a senior student’s phone from the corridor and used it to search for answers.

Supervising teachers caught him, departmental sources said. His examination in the course was cancelled, and he was barred from examinations for one subsequent semester.