Greater than two years after the Jharkhand authorities initiated a probe right into a rip-off uncovered by The Indian Categorical involving Pre-Matric Scholarship Scheme cash meant for poor minority college students, solely one of many 24 districts has initiated motion within the type of registration of FIRs. In the remainder 23 districts, the police are both ready for the record of beneficiaries or associated data from the authorities involved, it’s learnt.
The gradual progress in investigation got here to the fore just lately when the Jharkhand DGP responded to a communication from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) searching for an motion taken report (ATR) and different particulars concerning the misappropriation of funds. The Jharkhand Police in its response stated that 16 FIRs have been registered in Dhanbad district, whereas motion was pending in 23 remaining districts. The Indian Categorical has considered the communication despatched by the CBI in addition to the state police’s response.
The Pre-Matric Scholarship Scheme is supposed to assist college students of minority communities: Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Parsis, Jains and Buddhists from households with annual revenue beneath Rs 1 lakh. To be eligible, college students want to attain at the least 50 per cent of their class exams. The scholarship is given in two tiers yearly: college students at school 1 to five obtain Rs 1,000 per yr and college students of sophistication 6 to 10 obtain Rs 10,700 if a hosteller or Rs 5,700 if a day scholar.
The Indian Categorical investigation had revealed siphoning of funds meant for minority college students underneath the Centre-funded pre-matric scholarship scheme by way of an alleged nexus of middlemen, financial institution correspondents, officers, and college authorities.
The Indian Categorical investigated entries, district by district, on the Nationwide Scholarship Portal (NSP) and matched them with beneficiary financial institution accounts within the Public Finance Administration System (PFMS) to seek out how a direct profit switch scheme was being derailed by corruption regardless of checks like Aadhaar playing cards, fingerprints, and verification from colleges involved.
The CBI had in Might this yr wrote to Jharkhand DGP Neeraj Sinha that they registered a Preliminary Enquiry primarily based on the criticism dated November 10, 2020, from Below Secretary, Ministry of Minority Affairs, in opposition to unidentified public servants and personal individuals for misappropriation of funds of the pre-matric scholarship scheme. The letter additionally enclosed newspaper experiences whereby it was alleged that the funds meant for the beneficiary candidates of 14 colleges, 10 from Jharkhand alone, have been siphoned.
“It’s requested to kindly inform the main points of the FIRs/Enquiries registered within the matter of misappropriation of funds…within the state of Jharkhand. The copies of FIR and motion taken by varied state forces/state vigilance bureau/anti corruption bureau may be offered to this workplace for additional crucial motion at our finish,” wrote head of central probe company’s (AC-1, New Delhi), DIG Nitin Deep Blaggan.
It was solely on September 12 that the Jharkhand Police wrote again to CBI stating that the anti corruption bureau (ACB) is investigating the case. The police knowledgeable that then secretary of Minority Affairs in Jharkhand had written to all deputy commissioners to make the main points accessible to the ACB, and later the ACB in February 2021 had additionally requested all 24 district welfare officers to offer particulars of all beneficiaries together with the quantity obtained by them between 2017 and 2020. The letter says that district-level committees have been additionally fashioned to look into the alleged fund diversion.
The letter stated that in Dhanbad, statements of 5 individuals have been recorded within the 16 FIRs registered in opposition to varied colleges. From the West Singhbhum district, the investigators obtained just one scholar’s assertion who stated that she had not obtained Rs 25,000 because it was being proven on the portal. Remainder of the districts have been nonetheless within the means of verification or recordsdata are pending with the workplace of district welfare officers. As well as, the letter stated that some investigators had retired or have been transferred, apparently as a purpose for the gradual progress.
A senior authorities official stated the pandemic had delayed the investigation.
ACB’s Deputy SP Vijay Shankar, who’s the investigating officer within the scholarship rip-off, stated: “The issue we face is that district welfare officers have been very gradual in responding to our queries regardless that we now have been continually asking them for record of beneficiaries and different particulars. Dhanbad is a singular case as a result of the FIRs have been already registered on the occasion of ADM (L&O) by way of CO…. therefore we now have moved additional in our investigation there.”