3 arrested in Rs 250-cr scholarship scam

Bhanu P Lohumi

Tribune News Service

Shimla, January 3

Finally, the CBI today arrested three persons, the then Superintendent Grade-II, Department of Higher Education (dealing with disbursement of scholarship), vice chairman of a private group of institutions and the then head cashier at the Central Bank of India in connection with Rs 250-crore scholarship scam.

Three residences of the then Superintendent Grade-II, Arvind Rajta (key suspect) in the case (one at Dhalli, ancestral house at Kalbhog and brother’s house at Bhattakufar) were raided by the CBI on September 19 last year and he was quizzed for seven hours. Details of bank accounts and 13 files were seized from his premises. He was arrested from Shimla today while the other two were arrested from Nawan Shahr in Punjab.

The CBI is ready with charge sheet against 16 persons, including six officers of education department holding posts during 2012-17 when the mega scam took place, against whom prosecution sanction has been received and more arrest of owners of educational institutions are likely.

The institutions whose owners are in the grey area and are charge sheeted are located in Sirmaur, Una and Kangra districts of Himachal, Chandigarh and adjoining Hoshiarpur district of Punjab. Initially the probe was conducted by Himachal police and later it was handed over to the CBI as the tentacles of the scam were spread in other states also.

The CBI had registered the case under sections 409,419,465,466 and 471 of IPC in May 2019 and conducted raids at over educational institutions in Himachal and the neighbouring states.

The scam started in 2012 -13 when the scholarships for SC ST and Backward Classes for Pre-matric and Post Matric students under 36 schemes were not paid to eligible students and 80 per cent scholarships money was paid to private institutions. The scam was unearthed following reports that the students of government schools in tribal Spiti valley in Lahaul and Spiti district had not been paid scholarship for past five years.

The CBI had earlier conducted searches at the location of 21 private institutes. During investigation, role of certain accused was found. The arrested accused will be produced before the Designated Court, sources in the CBI said.