A primary school teacher was arrested by the Malda cyber crime police on Saturday in connection with a large-scale online fraud involving the state government's 'Taruner Swapno' scheme. Police said that the arrested accused, Manojit Burman, a resident of Dinhata and a teacher at a primary school in Sitai block, is suspected of being involved in a cybercrime ring that siphoned off funds meant for students to purchase tablets. This takes the total number of arrests in the case to 14. Police sources claimed that Burman had multiple bank accounts in his name, his wife's name and another relative's name, which were allegedly used to channel the illicit funds. The arrest of Burman came after interrogating other persons already detained in connection with the fraud. Police suspect that the fraud was orchestrated by inter-state gangs operating from states such as Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Jharkhand. The 'Taruner Swapno' scheme, which provides Rs 10,000 to Class 10 and 12 students, has been targeted by cybercriminals who have allegedly managed to divert funds to other accounts. Till date, the West Bengal Police have registered 120 cases related to this issue. To expedite the investigation, a joint investigation monitoring team comprising senior police officers has been formed. Additional Director-General of Police (South Bengal), Supratim Sarkar, said that 1,911 of 16 lakh beneficiaries of the scheme were affected by the cyber fraud.
