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Free textbooks scam: Bahraich dist admn cracks whip, over half-a-dozen officials hauled up
The incident came to light on February 16, when the DM received a tip-off on his official mobile number
The district administration has initiated strong administrative measures against more than half-a-dozen officers and employees of the basic education department, in a crackdown on the alleged bungling in government-supplied free textbooks meant for schoolchildren.
Two attendants have been suspended, contracts of three contractual staff terminated, and departmental action has been recommended against three officers following a high-level investigation ordered by district magistrate Akshay Tripathi.
The action follows the interception of a truck (UP 21 FT 8485) loaded with brand-new textbooks for the 2026-2027 academic session, which were being illegally transported to Kashipur, Uttarakhand, apparently for sale as scrap paper. The incident came to light on February 16, when the DM received a tip-off on his official mobile number around 9:00 pm.
Acting swiftly, DM Tripathi directed the chief development officer to intervene immediately. With police assistance, the truck was intercepted en route, brought back from Lakhimpur district, and secured at Ramgaon police station in Bahraich.
An FIR (No. 0052, dated February 17) was registered at Ramgaon police station, after an initial verification confirmed the books were free government textbooks for the upcoming session.
Probe exposes negligence
A five-member committee, constituted by the DM, conducted a thorough probe into the storage, receipt, and record-keeping of textbooks at the district level. The committee’s report, submitted on February 19, highlighted gross negligence and irregularities.
According to the inquiry report, an eight-member district-level committee had been assigned responsibility for the safe storage and proper record maintenance of textbooks. Another verification committee was tasked with ensuring that textbooks received from printers matched the quantity mentioned in invoices and that no shortages were accepted.
However, during verification, textbooks were found missing from the storage site, indicating gross negligence, administrative lapses, and violation of established procedures. The report clearly held the officials concerned guilty of failing to perform their duties.
Based on the findings two attendants responsible for storage and record-keeping — Alok Kumar and Shafiq Ahmad— have been placed under suspension by Ashish Kumar Singh, district basic education officer, Bahraich.
Contracts of three contractual staff have been terminated: Instructor Atul Kumar Singh, district coordinator for community participation Ashutosh Singh and special educator Deepak Kumar.
Also, show-cause notices have been issued to three senior officials - Viresh Kumar Verma, assistant finance and accounts officer in-charge, Dolly Mishra, block education officer (city area) and Ranjit Kumar, block education officer (headquarters).
Taking the matter seriously, the DM has forwarded the investigation report to the additional chief secretary, basic education department, recommending departmental proceedings against the three officers found prima facie responsible. Further disciplinary action will be decided at the state level. HTC
