NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has conducted raids across 22 locations in six districts of Uttar Pradesh in connection with cases of “fraudulently” availing of post-matriculation scholarships worth Rs 75 crore by various educational institutes in the state.
The scholarships were meant for economically weaker, minority category and differently abled students, the ED said in a statement.
It alleged that several institutes/colleges “unlawfully” availed scholarships in the name of several ineligible candidates and “misappropriated” the funds for their own use.
The ED said the raids were carried out at 22 locations on February 16 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after registering a case on the basis of a 2017 complaint of the state Vigilance Bureau.
The institutions under the ED’s scanner include the SS Institute of Management, Mampur, Lucknow; Hygia College of Pharmacy, Lucknow; Hygia Institute of Pharmacy/Central Institute of Pharmacy, Lucknow; Lucknow Institute of Management and Education, Lucknow; and Dr Om Prakash Gupta Institute of Management and Technology, Farrukhabad.
Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar Foundation and Jivika College of Pharmacy, RP Inter College, Gyanwati Inter College, and Jagdish Prasad Verma Uchatar Madhyamik Vidyalaya, all in Hardoi, are also among the institutions that are being investigated under provisions of the PMLA, it added.
The scholarship is provided by the central and state governments to facilitate the education of Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, PH (physically handicapped or differently abled) candidates, and students from minority communities and economically weaker sections, the ED said, adding the scholarship scam had a huge social impact on weaker sections of society.
Explaining the modus operandi, the ED said the “scam” was committed with the aid and assistance of several agents of FINO Payments Bank, including Mohd Sahil Aziz, Amit Kumar Maurya, Tanveer Ahmad, Jitendra Singh and Ravi Prakash Gupta. It was committed by misusing the relaxed procedure adopted for opening accounts on the platform of FINO Payments Bank, the agency added.
“The offenders had opened all bank accounts in Lucknow and Mumbai branches of FINO. The institutes also availed the services of FINO agents in both electronic transfers and cash withdrawal of the scholarship funds. The proceeds of crime were rotated to various bank accounts under control of the owners of the institutes and their related entities and persons,” the ED alleged.