Uttarakhand SC/ST scholarship scam: ED files Prosecution Complaint against 3 in Dehradun court

Posted on by Vividh Bharathi

Dehradun, June 16 (IANS) In a new twist in Uttarakhand’s Rs 1.97-crore SC/ST Scholarship Scam, the Enforcement Directorate filed a Prosecution Complaint (PC) against Deen Dayal Sharma Educational Trust and two of its trustees in a court in Dehradun, an official said on Monday.

The complaint named trustees Vivek Sharma and Ankur Sharma in connection with the alleged money laundering of the scholarship money meant for the underprivileged students of the Institute of Professional Studies, Roorkee, run by the Trust, the official said.

The ED’s complaint said that the Institute allegedly misappropriated the huge amount of funds that it received from the Social Welfare Department, Haridwar, for distribution among SC/ST students.

During the investigation, it was revealed that the Institute had fraudulently received the scholarship money between 2013-14 and 2016-2017.

The ED launched its investigation on the basis of an FIR registered by Police Station, SIDCUL, Haridwar, under penal provisions dealing with cheating and criminal conspiracy.

The institution made fake and bogus claims to secure scholarships under the SC/ST Scholarship Scheme and siphoned off the funds, the ED said in a statement.

The Institute of Professional Studies, Roorkee, run by Deen Dayal Sharma Educational Trust, through its trustees, caused a financial loss amounting to Rs 1.97 crore to the public exchequer with wrongful gain to themselves, said the ED’s Prosecution Complaint filed in court on June 11.

The ED investigation revealed that the Proceeds of Crime, generated by the institution with the active assistance of officials of the District Social Welfare Office, were diverted to either the bank accounts of the Trust or to other accounts of the college and utilised for the expenses of the trust and withdrawn in cash.

Earlier, the ED had provisionally attached immovable assets of trustees Vivek Sharma and Ankur Sharma amounting to Rs 1.97 crore under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

In December 2023, the ED had provisionally attached two immovable properties in the form of land and buildings situated in the Dehradun and Haridwar districts.

–IANS

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Two drivers of two vehicles in which the drugs were transported, were arrested in this connection.

An Assam police spokesperson said that acting on secret information, the Special Task Force (STF) of the state Police launched the operation in the Amingaon area and separately intercepted a trick and a Hyundai car coming from a neighbouring state.

During the search operation, the STF personnel recovered 2,70,000 Yaba tablets valued at Rs 67 crore from the truck while 520 grams of heroin valued at Rs 4 crore, contained in 40 soap boxes recovered from the Hyundai car.

Both the methamphetamine tablets, also known as Yaba or party tablets and the heroin smuggled from Myanmar. Drivers of both the vehicles identified as Nur Islam (34) and Nazrul Hussain alias Ali Hussain (22) were arrested under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act 1985.

The operation was led by STF chief Parthasarathi Mahanta, who was assisted by Additional Superintendent of Police, STF, Kalyan Pathak.

Further investigation is underway, and legal action has been initiated, the police spokesman said.

Officials suspect that the highly addictive methamphetamine tablets were smuggled from Myanmar and brought to Assam via the neighbouring state and intended to illegally trade to neighbouring Bangladesh or other parts of the country.

Myanmar, which shares a 1,643 km unfenced border with four northeastern states — Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland, and Mizoram — serves as a key transit point for drugs, particularly heroin and methamphetamine tablets, entering India. Myanmar’s Chin state is a hub for smuggling of varied drugs, exotic wildlife animals and many other contrabands through six Mizoram districts — Champhai, Siaha, Lawngtlai, Hnahthial, Saitual, and Serchhip.

–IANS

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Revanth Reddy operating as covert operative of BJP: KTR

Hyderabad, March 10 (IANS) Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) Working President K.T. Rama Rao on Monday accused Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy of functioning as a covert operative for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

He alleged that Revanth Reddy has failed to address the state’s pressing issues, including Backward Class reservations.

KTR, as the BRS leader is popularly known, told reporters that Revanth Reddy’s actions over the past 15 months reveal a hidden alliance with the BJP, aimed at stalling Telangana’s progress. “It’s no secret that Revanth Reddy is operating as a BJP covert,” KTR charged, pointing to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s recent statements about “BJP agents” within his party as a clear reference to the Chief Minister. “Rahul Gandhi’s comments in Rajasthan were unequivocally about Revanth Reddy,” he asserted.

The BRS leader cited a post-budget meeting between Revanth Reddy and Prime Minister Narendra Modi as proof of a clandestine agenda. “Revanth met Modi with 11 proposals after the budget, but the real purpose was something else. Why was Minister Sridhar Babu asked to step out? What did Revanth discuss with the PM in private? Telangana’s people have a right to know.”

KTR pressed for accountability, questioning what tangible benefits the state had reaped from Revanth’s tenure in terms of central support or projects.

The BRS working president said that if Revanth Reddy genuinely cares about Backward Classes, he should launch an indefinite hunger strike in Delhi

The former minister expressed deep scepticism about Revanth Reddy’s commitment to BC reservations, challenging the Chief Minister to prove his sincerity through action. “If Revanth Reddy genuinely cares about BCs, he should launch an indefinite hunger strike in Delhi until 42 per cent reservation is secured,” KTR declared.

He argued that both Congress and BJP could easily amend the Constitution to enhance BC quotas if they wished, but they are exploiting BCs as a vote bank without delivering justice.

Drawing a contrast, KTR highlighted the BRS’ proactive stance, noting that the party had passed resolutions early in its rule to boost BC reservations and establish a BC Welfare Ministry at the Centre. “We demanded a caste census long before Rahul Gandhi even thought of it,” he said, criticising Congress for failing to allocate even 20 Assembly seats to BC candidates during elections.

Commenting on the political landscape, KTR accused Revanth Reddy and Union Minister G. Kishan Reddy of orchestrating a “staged drama” to divert attention from public grievances. “This is a scripted play to mask the government’s failures,” he said. “The recent MLC election will not fetch any real gains for the BJP — it’s all hype on social media with little substance on the ground.”

He alleged a tacit understanding between Congress and BJP to undermine regional parties like the BRS, pointing to the absence of BJP-led agitations against the state government’s alleged corruption and unfulfilled promises over the past 15 months.

–IANS

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BJP MP Khandelwal hails arrest of Delhi riot accused Hanif

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Speaking to IANS, Khandelwal said, “This is a big achievement for the Delhi Police. It is very clear that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Delhi’s Double Engine government and our forces will not spare anyone who indulges in any anti-national activity.”

The police on Friday arrested Hanif, a co-accused of violence during the December 2019 anti-CAA protests in southeast Delhi, who had been declared a proclaimed offender after failing to appear in court.

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“Owaisi is doing politics over the Waqf Bill which is being handled in a very democratic manner through the JPC. The Parliament would soon take it up for discussion and approve the Bill,” he told IANS.

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