Harsimrat writes to Union minister to recommend CBI probe in scholarship scam

SAYS A CBI INQUIRY WAS NECESSARY TO RECOVER THE FUNDS THAT WERE EMBEZZLED AT THE INSTANCE OF DHARAMSOT

CHANDIGARH:UNION food processing industries minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Saturday requested her cabinet colleague Thawar Chand Gehlot to recommend a CBI inquiry into the Rs 63 crore SC scholarship scam in which Punjab scheduled castes and backward classes minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot is allegedly involved.

In a letter to the Union social justice and empowerment minister, Harsimrat said a CBI inquiry was necessary to recover the funds that were embezzled at the instance of

Dharamsot. She also requested that since the Congress government had clearly failed to distribute the SC scholarship funds in a transparent manner to the beneficiaries, the Centre may take over this responsibility pending an inquiry into the case.

Requesting Gehlot to forward the case to the Union home ministry for instituting a CBI inquiry, Harsimrat said apart from the criminal offence the scam amounted to committing an atrocity against the scheduled caste community of Punjab as those involved in it were playing with the future of Dalit students.

She said Dharamsot was indicted by his own additional chief secretary (ACS) for presiding over the scam. She said the minister was also accused of disbursing Rs 24 crore to private educational institutions against whom the government had ordered recoveries.