GUWAHATI: The Crime Investigation Department (CID), Assam has arrested 21 persons from across the state for misappropriation of minority students scholarship funds.
Addressing the media, Inspector General of Police of CID Surendra Kumar, Deputy Inspector General of CID Lachit Barua, SSP CID Vivekananda Das, SP of CID Rakesh Reddy revealed details of the investigation and stated that misappropriation of rupees ten crores was carried out in the pre-matriculation scholarship fund.
During the raids conducted, seven accused were apprehended from Goalpara, seven from Darrang, six from Kamrup (M), and one from Dhubri.
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Out of the 21 apprehended accused persons (including two women), four are headmasters of schools, one teacher, three are owners of CSP, one president of school management committee, two EDPs (electronic data processors) and ten are middlemen, the CID officials informed.
The police also seized three laptops, 217 students' photographs, 104 bonafide certificates, 173 pre-matric sponsorship application forms and eleven bank passbooks.
The investigation in the alleged scam was conducted by the CID after a complaint was registered by Mahmood Hassan, Director of Assam Minority Development Board on 28 August, 2020.
Pre-matric scholarship for minority community is a central sector scheme sponsored/implemented by the Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India for students who secure 50% marks in the previous examination and whose parents/guardians' annual income does not exceed Rs 1 lakh.
Further investigation on this case is currently on-going.
