CBI files chargesheet against 12 in HP scholarship scam

CBI CHARGESHEET ALSO NAMED SIX GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS OF DIRECTORATE OF HIGHER EDUCATION, SHIMLA

NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) here on Monday said it had filed a chargesheet against 12 people, including then Superintendent, in the case of alleged irregularities in Himachal Pradesh’s prematric and post-matric scholarship schemes.

The CBI chargesheet named six government officials of Directorate of the Higher Education, Shimla.

The people named in chargesheet included Arvind Rajta, dealing hand or superintendent; Mala Mehta, DDO-cum-assistant director; Shriram Sharma, Surinder Mohan Kanwar, Ashok Kumar and Virender Kumar (all superintendentcum-DDO). The CBI has also named Saroj Sharma and BS Sandhu, both campus directors of the KC Group of Institutions Pandoga, Una; Hitesh Gandhi, vice chairman; Prem Pal Gandhi, chairman (both owners of the group of institutions); Kiran Choudhary, officiating principal, and Surinder Pal Singh, head cashier at the Central Bank of India, Nawanshahr, Punjab.

The CBI had registered the case on the request of Himachal Pradesh government and further notification from the central government on May 7, 2019 under sections of criminal breach, cheating by impersonation, forgery, forgery of court record or public register and using forged documents.

The CBI had also registered a case for alleged misappropriation of Rs 220 crore scholarship funds meant for Schedule Caste, Schedule Tribe, Other Backward Classes and minority community between 2013-14 and 2016-17.

It was alleged the income or caste certificates of alleged students were not genuine. The CBI had also conducted searches at 21 private institutes in May, 2019.