Two held for minority scholarship scam that took place in 2011-13 | Lucknow News
Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh unit of the economic offences wing (EOW) on Friday arrested two key accused in a minority scholarship scam worth Rs 25 crore that rocked Hathras district over a decade ago.The arrests were made under the ongoing statewide crackdown ‘Operation Shikanja’ against those involved in financial fraud, said Neera Rawat, DG, EOW. The arrested accused have been identified as Rajendra Prasad, former principal of Madrasa Abdul Hameed Islamia Education, Arjunpur, Hathras, and Sudha Sharma, the then manager of the same institution. Both were picked up from Sikandrarao in Hathras by an EOW team. According to officials, the scam dates back to 2011–12 and 2012–13, when pre-matric minority scholarships meant for students up to Class 8 were fraudulently siphoned off by a nexus of school managers, principals, and govt officials. Investigations revealed that 62 educational institutions and madrasas in Hathras, in collusion with the then minority welfare officer and other officials, prepared forged lists of non-existent students and demanded registers. Using these fabricated records, they managed to secure and misappropriate scholarship funds amounting to Rs 24.92 crore. The case was originally registered in 2014 at Mursan police station under IPC Sections 409, 419, 420, 467, 468, 471, later enhanced with Sections 204, 120B IPC, and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Following transfer to the EOW, the investigation identified 81 accused, including three public servants and 78 private individuals. So far, charge sheets against 46 accused have been filed in court, while 32 others remain at large. Officials said Rajendra Prasad and Sudha Sharma alone embezzled Rs 38.10 lakh by submitting scholarship applications under fictitious names. Both will be produced before the court for custodial remand.
