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Prime accused in old-age pension scam arrested
A senior district official, absconding after his name figured in an old-age pension scam, was arrested along with five other persons, officials said in Sitapur on Saturday.
A senior district official, absconding after his name figured in an old-age pension scam, was arrested along with five other persons, officials said in Sitapur on Saturday.
District Social Welfare Officer Y K Rai, suspended after the case came to light, was arrested from Arjunganj area in Lucknow on Friday, they said.
The others arrested are four employees of his department and a middleman.
The arrests were made on the basis of an FIR lodged by district probationary officer Prabhakar Dubey with Kotwali police station.
Earlier, an FIR was lodged against over 5000 people on August 15 in Sitapur after it was found that old age pension amounting to Rs 91 lakh was disbursed to 5,055 ineligible candidates on the basis of fake identification papers.
To verify the credentials of the beneficiaries under the scheme, the district magistrate constituted 109 teams which revealed the involvement of some senior officials in the scam.
An enquiry was also ordered in Mainpuri after complaints that pension was distributed among 200 ineligible candidates.
As cases of irregularities in the disbursement of old age pension surfaced, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Thursday directed authorities to take appropriate action.
