New Delhi: In connection with a money laundering case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) announced Saturday that it has attached immovable properties in the Haridwar district of Uttarakhand valued at Rs 5.62 crore.
As part of its probe into a possible SC/ST Scholarship scam, the ED has seized land and buildings owned by the Seth Bialy Prasad Jain Educational Trust, the organisation responsible for the Phonics Group of Institutions in Roorkee.
Upon receiving a First Information Report (FIR) from the Haridwar Police Department alleging violations of several articles of the Indian Penal Code, the ED opened an inquiry under the PMLA.
The inquiry revealed that from 2011–2012 through 2014–2015, the Phonics Group of Institutions in Roorkee fraudulently got a large scholarship from the Social Welfare Department in Haridwar on the pretence that the money was for SC/ST kids.
"The institution had made false claims to obtain scholarships under SC/ST Scholarship Scheme which has been embezzled, siphoned off by the Phonics Group of Institutions, Roorkee run by Seth Bimal Prasad Jain Educational Trust, through its trustees, and caused huge financial loss to the public exchequer with wrongful gain to themselves," said the official.
The investigation also uncovered that the stolen funds were transferred to the Seth Bimal Prasad Jain Educational Trust bank accounts or other college accounts before being used to pay for trust costs and then cashed out.
In the past, the court has also attached land in Haridwar worth Rs 1.45 crore that is owned by Wali Gramme Udhyog Vikas Sansthan, Roorkee, which operates the Techword Wali Gramme Udhyog Vikas Sansthan, Group of Institutions, Roorkee.
The current amount of attachment in the case is Rs 7.07 crore.—Inputs from Agencies