CBI readies chargesheet in the multi-crore scholarship scam

The scam came to light in 2019 following reports that the students of government schools in the tribal Spiti valley in Lahaul and Spiti district had not been paid a scholarship

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), after months of investigation, prepared a charge sheet against four private educational institutions which are under investigation in a ₹250 crore scholarship scam.

The scam remained hidden as people who created an online portal for the disbursement of the scholarship scheme and those who actually transferred the amount were the same, the inquiry pointed out

The scam came to light in 2019 following reports that the students of government schools in the tribal Spiti valley in Lahaul and Spiti district had not been paid a scholarship.

The then state cabinet under chairmanship of chief minister Jai Ram Thakur had recommended the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe the matter while the education department conducted an internal probe to ascertain the veracity of the scam.

The inquiry conducted by the education department revealed that more than 2,38,089 eligible students hailing from Scheduled Tribe and Scheduled Caste were deprived of scholarships under various centrally sponsored schemes while ineligible candidates were given admissions and fictitious bank accounts were opened for the payment of scholarships by various institutions.

The scam remained hidden as people who created an online portal for the disbursement of the scholarship scheme and those who actually transferred the amount were the same, the inquiry pointed out.

Scholarships amounting to ₹226 crore were disbursed through fake admissions and money was deposited in different bank accounts both within and outside the state. Some fake accounts in Haryana, Chandigarh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana were tracked while other suspected accounts are under scanner.

The enforcement directorate (ED) had joined with the CBI to further investigate the scam.

About 80% of the scholarship fund was siphoned off to these private entities, leaving a mere 20% for government institutions. The mismanagement raised eyebrows and questions about the integrity of the educational system. Sleuths found that officers of the education department, managers of the private institutions and banks colluded with each other to siphon off the funds