SC/ST scholarship scam: 7 institutes probed, 12 arrested in Haridwar

HARIDWAR: Twelve persons, including the former district welfare officer of SC/ST scholarship scamave been arrested till now in the multi-crore SC/ST scholarship scam in Uttarakhand. The accused, who run educational institutes in the state, allegedly siphoned off scholarship money meant for SC/ST students studying in the Uttarakhand by sending fake lists of students to the social welfare department.

The scam came to light after a local activist of the Dalit community, Pankaj Lamba, alerted the Supreme Court and demanded an inquiry.

On Saturday, five persons who allegedly siphoned off scholarship money to the tune of Rs32 crore were arrested. All the arrests till now have been made from Haridwar.

Lamba, meanwhile, has raised concerns about the slow pace the SIT’s investigation, saying they will never complete it in time. According to sources, around 85 colleges of Haridwar district are under the SIT’s radar but only seven have been investigated so far. After Haridwar, the SIT will move to Dehradun.

Uttarakhand students belonging to the SC, ST and OBC category who study in institutes of the state receive scholarships from the social welfare department.

According to the SIT’s report, around Rs 65 crore had been given to the seven

private colleges under the SC/ST scholarship scheme between the sessions 2011-12 and 2016-17. The institutes include IMS institute of Technology, Roorkee, Rookee Institute of Management Science (RIMS), Motherhood Institute of Management and Technology, Bhagwanpur, Mahaveer Institute of Engineering and Technology, Institute of Professional Studies Bedpur Roorkee, Techwoods Wali Gramodyog Vikas Sansthan’s group of Institutions, Manglore and Phonics Group of Institutions Roorkee Haridwar. The SIT found these institutes had siphoned off the scholarship money using names of non-existent SC/ST students, in connivance with social welfare department officials. In some cases, the social welfare department had deposited the amount directly in the colleges’ account, without any physical verification.

Haridwar SP (crime) Manjunath TC, who is heading the SIT team probing the scam, told TOI, “So far, 12 accused, including the then district social welfare officer of Haridwar, have been arrested. Our investigation is on and many more colleges in Haridwar are on our probe list. After we are done with Haridwar, we will move on to Dehradun, where several colleges are under the lens.”

Activist Lamba said, “The investigation is being conducted fairly but very slowly. The government departments are not cooperating with the SIT regarding the inquiry. The government should address this problem and cancel permissions of the institutions which are under the lens.”