Most of the 137 unlawfully recruited staffers, who were recruited by former Rajshahi University vice-chancellor Prof Abdus Sobhan on his last day in office on May 6, laid siege to RU administrative building yesterday, pressuring the administration to allow them to join work.

They have been confining four top officials including pro-VC Prof Ananda Kumar Saha, who is given the routine duties of the VC, and another pro-VC Prof Chowdhury Muhammad Zakaria to the VC's conference room since 12pm.

Talking to The Daily Star at 8pm, RU proctor Liakat Ali said those employed on May 6 were still confining the RU officials to the room.

They were demanding that the authorities allow them to join their respective posts, he said.

The agitators were not allowing anyone to enter or go out of the office, he said. "The present administration has no authority to sanction their recruitment," he said.

He said authorities did not call in police to avoid any untoward incident. Police were stationed there, he added.

On his last day in office on May 6, Prof Sobhan recruited at least 137 staffers, including nine teachers, giving rise to protests on the campus. The education ministry termed the recruitment illegal on the same day and initiated an investigation.

On May 8, the RU administration suspended the recruitment process.

Meanwhile, after asking different banks to provide it with detailed financial information of Prof Sobhan and four of his family members on May 24, the National Board of Revenue has sought bank information of four more persons including former RU proctor Prof Lutfar Rahman, and former RU BCL leader Ibrahim Hossain Moon.

Prof Lutfar was the RU proctor during the former VC's tenure while Moon, who runs a restaurant near the campus, was the university's BCL president in 2005.

The NBR took the action as their names surfaced in an investigation by the education ministry for abetting the former VC in unlawful recruitment and amassing wealth by collecting bribes from job seekers.

The two other persons are Prof Lutfar's wife Monira Yasmin and Moon's wife Ayesha Siddika.

In the letter, sent on May 30, the central intelligence cell of NBR sought all sorts of information on the four from different banks and asked them to report within seven days of receiving the letter.

Earlier in the May 24 letter, NBR sought bank information of the former VC, his wife Monowara Sobhan, son Mushfique Sobhan, daughter Sanjana Sobhan and son-in-law ATM Shahed Parvez.