22 institutes told Himachal Pradesh pupils to ‘pay’ for scholarship

Bhanu P Lohumi

Tribune News Service

Shimla, November 20

At least 22 educational institutions on the CBI radar in the Rs 250-crore scholarship scam not only committed fraud with the government, but also allegedly asked students to pay money for the release of scholarships.

A section of students of these institutions located in Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh have alleged that the managements had sought money for releasing their dues, said CBI sources.

Scam under CBI lens

• Over 270 institutions are under scanner in the multi-crore scholarship scam
• Scholarship funds of nearly 32,000 students were not credited to their accounts
• CBI sources say students of 22 institutions accused managements of bribery

Scholarship funds of nearly 32,000 students were not credited to their accounts. Over 270 institutions are under the scanner in the multi-crore scam involving managements of institutes, officials of the HP Education Department and banks.

The scam dates back to 2012-13 when scholarships under 36 schemes for pre-matric and post-matric students belonging to the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Backward Classes were not paid. After the expose, the CBI registered a case under Sections 409, 419, 465, 466 and 471 of the IPC on May 8, 2019.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe revealed that fake affiliation letters were submitted by the institutions to mislead the Education Department, which failed to ensure physical verification of infrastructure and strength of students.

Other discrepancies included non-submission of copies of Aadhaar cards of students, using same accounts to withdraw scholarships of dummy students and opening of fake accounts in three nationalised banks.

Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.