Rs 200-crore ‘scam’: Former HP govt official among 4 held by ED in SC/ST scholarship case

The agency had carried out raids in the case on August 29 at 24 locations in Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Delhi. It had seized unaccounted cash of Rs 75 lakh and froze Rs 2.55 crore in bank accounts.

Enforcement Directorate (ED), Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi, scholarship scam, India news, Indian express, Indian express India news, Indian express India

"Searches under sections 17 of Prevention of Money Laundering Act were conducted on officials of State Education Department, Banks and owner of entities related to Private Universities and institutions, who were involved in large scale misappropriation of disbursement of scholarship funds," the spokesperson said, adding that further investigation is underway.

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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested four people including a former official of the Himachal Pradesh Directorate of Higher Education over the alleged Rs 200-crore scam in the grant of scholarships to SC, ST and OBC students.

“Rajdeep Josan and Krishan Kumar, partners at ASAMS education group, Hitesh Gandhi, vice chairman of KC group of institutions (located in Pandoga) and Arvind Rajta, a former official of the Himachal Pradesh Directorate of Higher Education’s scholarship branch, were taken into custody on Wednesday. They were arrested under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and a special PMLA court in Shimla sent them to its custody for five days,” an ED spokesperson said

The agency said Josan and Kumar, through their education group and skill development society, claimed scholarships under the post-matriculation scheme by presenting fabricated documents.

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“Similarly, Hitesh Gandhi made bogus claims for scholarships which were verified by Arvind Rajta. Hitesh Gandhi transferred the scholarship disbursed in the bank account of students to the bank accounts of KC Group of Institutions, Padoga,” ED alleged.

The money laundering case stems from an FIR of the Central Bureau of Investigation in which it was alleged that officials of Himachal Pradesh education department, private institutions and banks were involved in large-scale misappropriation of disbursement of scholarship funds of more than Rs 200 crore.

The agency had carried out raids in the case on August 29 at 24 locations in Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Delhi. It had seized unaccounted cash of Rs 75 lakh and froze Rs 2.55 crore in bank accounts.

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