Dehradun, June 16 (IANS) In a new twist in Uttarakhand’s Rs 1.97-crore SC/ST Scholarship Scam, the Enforcement Directorate filed a Prosecution Complaint (PC) against Deen Dayal Sharma Educational Trust and two of its trustees in a court in Dehradun, an official said on Monday.

The complaint named trustees Vivek Sharma and Ankur Sharma in connection with the alleged money laundering of the scholarship money meant for the underprivileged students of the Institute of Professional Studies, Roorkee, run by the Trust, the official said.

The ED’s complaint said that the Institute allegedly misappropriated the huge amount of funds that it received from the Social Welfare Department, Haridwar, for distribution among SC/ST students.

During the investigation, it was revealed that the Institute had fraudulently received the scholarship money between 2013-14 and 2016-2017.

The ED launched its investigation on the basis of an FIR registered by Police Station, SIDCUL, Haridwar, under penal provisions dealing with cheating and criminal conspiracy.

The institution made fake and bogus claims to secure scholarships under the SC/ST Scholarship Scheme and siphoned off the funds, the ED said in a statement.

The Institute of Professional Studies, Roorkee, run by Deen Dayal Sharma Educational Trust, through its trustees, caused a financial loss amounting to Rs 1.97 crore to the public exchequer with wrongful gain to themselves, said the ED’s Prosecution Complaint filed in court on June 11.

The ED investigation revealed that the Proceeds of Crime, generated by the institution with the active assistance of officials of the District Social Welfare Office, were diverted to either the bank accounts of the Trust or to other accounts of the college and utilised for the expenses of the trust and withdrawn in cash.

Earlier, the ED had provisionally attached immovable assets of trustees Vivek Sharma and Ankur Sharma amounting to Rs 1.97 crore under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

In December 2023, the ED had provisionally attached two immovable properties in the form of land and buildings situated in the Dehradun and Haridwar districts.

–IANS

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