Scholarship scam: 149 students, 7 institutions in Khurda booked

PRAVAT PANIGRAHI, OP

Khurda: At least 149 students and seven private educational institutions have been booked for allegedly obtaining post-matric scholarships by submitting forged income and caste certificates, officials said. Acting on the Khurda Collector’s directions, the District Social Welfare Officer (DSWO) lodged a written complaint at Khurda Model police station, leading to the registration of a case (487/25) against the students, police said.

In a separate case, (486/25), police booked seven institutions for allegedly facilitating scholarship payments to students who were either not enrolled or never attended classes. The cases were registered following instructions from the Collector. The institutions named are: The Techno School; Subhash Academy of Management and Technology; Gurukul Engineering School; Gurukul Institute of Technology; Mahavir Engineering College; and Mahavir Institute of Engineering and Technical Education.

Officials said the district administration has also written to collectors of the districts where the 149 students reside, seeking initiation of recovery proceedings under the Odisha Public Demands Recovery Act to reclaim the disbursed scholarship amounts.

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A review conducted by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) into the implementation of the post-matric scholarship scheme in Khurda district for the period 2017-18 to 2020-21 has uncovered large-scale irregularities. According to the review, 149 student beneficiaries secured scholarships during the period by submitting forged income and caste certificates.

The audit findings pointed to serious lapses in scrutiny at the institutional level. Following receipt of the audit report and in compliance with directions from the state government, the district administration carried out a detailed probe into the forgery. Based on the findings, Khurda Collector Amrit Ruturaj directed the DSWO to initiate criminal proceedings against the students involved and seven educational institutions. Acting on the DM’s instructions, the DSSO has filed two separate written complaints at the police station, officials said.