New Delhi, Mar 16: 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 ₹11.4 crore meant for scholarships for students with disabilities, officials said on Monday.
According to the CBI as per news agency Kashmir News Corner — KNC, the funds were allegedly siphoned off through fake beneficiaries and non-existent institutes under the Umbrella Scholarship Scheme for Students with Disabilities, which is 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 scam.
The case stems from a complaint by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, which reported that ₹11.41 crore had been disbursed to 926 students linked to 28 institutions that were either non-existent or found involved in serious irregularities during inspection.
Investigations revealed that several institutions listed on the portal were either closed or never existed, yet scholarship claims continued to be processed in the names of students. The agency also found instances where fake user IDs were created to upload scholarship applications and withdraw funds.
In one case, the Satyam College of Education in Jammu and Kashmir, which had reportedly shut down in 2017, was still shown as enrolling students who received scholarship benefits through fabricated records.
The probe further indicated that certain institute nodal officers, public servants and others allegedly conspired to push fraudulent applications through the portal, causing significant loss to the government exchequer. Further investigation in the case is underway. (KNC)
