Graduates toss their caps into the air during the 48th convocation of Dhaka University in Bangladesh in April. Photo: IC

A Bangladeshi lawmaker has been expelled from university after allegedly hiring as many as eight look-alikes to take exams in her place, officials said on Monday.

Tamanna Nusrat, from the ruling Awami League party, is accused of paying the look-alikes to pretend to be her in at least 13 tests.

The scandal emerged after private broadcaster Nagorik TV entered a test hall and confronted one of the women posing as Nusrat, in a video that went viral.

Nusrat, who was elected to parliament last year, was studying for a Bachelor of Arts degree with the Bangladesh Open University (BOU).

"We expelled her because she has committed a crime. She will never be able to get admitted here again," BOU head M.A. Mannan told AFP. 

"The proxy students were protected by the MP's musclemen when they sat for the tests. Everybody knew it but nobody uttered a word because she is from a very influential family," a college official said.

AFP