ED arrests four including HP Govt official in 200 cr scholarship scam of HP

New Delhi, September 1

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested four people including a former official of the Himachal Pradesh Directorate of Higher Education over the alleged Rs 200-crore scam in the grant of scholarships to SC, ST and OBC students.

The arrested Rajdeep Josan and Krishan Kumar, partners at ASAMS education group, Hitesh Gandhi, vice chairman of KC group of institutions (located in Pandoga) and Arvind Rajta, a former official of the Himachal Pradesh Directorate of Higher Education’s scholarship branch. 

Josan and Kumar, through their education group and skill development society, claimed scholarships under the post-matriculation scheme by presenting fabricated documents. Hitesh Gandhi made bogus claims for scholarships which were verified by Arvind Rajta. Hitesh Gandhi transferred the scholarship disbursed in the bank account of students to the bank accounts of KC Group of Institutions, Padoga. ED stated. 

The money laundering case stems from an FIR of the Central Bureau of Investigation in which it was alleged that officials of Himachal Pradesh education department, private institutions and banks were involved in large-scale misappropriation of disbursement of scholarship funds of more than Rs 200 crore.

The ED had raided several location on August 29 at 24 locations in Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Delhi and also seized unaccounted cash of Rs 75 lakh and froze Rs 2.55 crore in bank accounts. 

The accused have been booked under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).