SRINAGAR: The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered an FIR against unidentified public servants and nodal officers in five states, including Jammu and Kashmir, over the alleged embezzlement of more than Rs 11.4 crore meant for scholarships for students with disabilities, officials said on Monday.
According to the agency, the funds were allegedly siphoned off through fake beneficiaries and non-existent educational institutions under the Umbrella Scholarship Scheme for Students with Disabilities, implemented through the National Scholarship Portal.
The FIR names officials and nodal officers from Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Jammu and Kashmir for their alleged involvement in the suspected fraud.
The case was initiated following a complaint by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, which reported that Rs 11.41 crore had been released to 926 students linked to 28 institutions that were either non-existent or found involved in serious irregularities during inspections.
Investigators found that several institutes listed on the portal were either shut down or never existed, yet scholarship applications continued to be processed in the names of students. The probe also revealed that fake user IDs were allegedly created to submit applications and withdraw funds.
In one instance, Satyam College of Education in Jammu and Kashmir, which reportedly closed in 2017, was still shown on the portal as enrolling students who received scholarship benefits through fabricated records.
The agency suspects that certain institute nodal officers, public servants and others conspired to push fraudulent applications through the portal, resulting in significant losses to the government exchequer. Further investigation in the case is underway.
