New Delhi:
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has connected properties price Rs 5.7 crore beneath the provisions of the Prevention of Cash Laundering Act (PMLA) within the Uttar Pradesh post-matric scholarship rip-off, the company stated on Thursday.
The connected properties are the school buildings of the SS Institute of Administration primarily based in Baksi Ka Talab space in Uttar Pradesh’s capital, Lucknow, the ED stated.
As per the federal company, that is the fourth attachment within the case. Complete amassed attachments together with this contemporary attachment stand at Rs 15.7 crore, it stated.
The SS group of institutes owns and runs faculties and faculties beneath the identify SS in Lucknow metropolis. In these faculties, numerous administration programs (BBA and MBA) are being performed.
The ED stated that the chairman of the SS group, Praveen Chauhan, with the assistance of Ishrat Zafari of the Hagia Group of institutes and his employees, created pretend paperwork of a whole bunch of scholars and availed Rs 7.40 crore in scholarship funds of their identify from the federal government. “Out of those, movable and immovable properties worth Rs 1.7 crore have already been attached.”
The ED initiated an investigation on the premise of intelligence and the First Data Report registered by the Uttar Pradesh Police within the scholarship rip-off in opposition to the accused individuals.
The ED investigation revealed that managers and trustees of assorted faculties obtained pretend college students admitted to their institutes for namesakes and utilized for scholarships of their names on the federal government portal.
“All the formalities and paperwork in this regard were done by the managers of the colleges themselves. The scholarship so received for the fake PH category and handicapped students was transferred to accounts of colleges and thereafter withdrawn in cash or transferred to personal accounts or used for land purchases, building construction, etc., thus, their actions resulted in the embezzlement of more than Rs 100 crore of government money from scholarships by depriving the needy and genuine students,” the ED stated.
Earlier, the ED stated that six accused individuals have been arrested within the case and all are in judicial custody. Consequently, three provisional attachment orders attaching numerous immovable and movable properties price Rs 10 crore within the identify of managers and trustees of the assorted faculties have already been issued.
One prosecution grievance and two supplementary prosecution complaints within the case have already been filed in opposition to 5 accused individuals earlier than the Particular (PMLA) Courtroom and the court docket has taken cognizance of the identical.
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