Excelsior Correspondent
RAJOURI, Oct 9: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has registered a formal case against former officers of the Tribal Affairs Department (TAD) and some private beneficiaries in connection with corruption allegations involving the Post Matric Scholarship scheme for Scheduled Tribe (ST) students.
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An ACB official said the case (FIR Number 05/2024) was filed following an ACB verification that revealed significant violations in the disbursement of scholarship funds.
He said the accused include former Director of Tribal Affairs, Mohammad Sharief Choudhary, and other officials such as Muzaffar Hussain Wani, Gulzar Hussain, Javed Ahmed and Shaheen Naqishbandi.
According to him, the accused allegedly conspired with the owners of computer institutes in Rajouri and Poonch—Mohammad Javaid (National Computer Institute, Poonch), Mohammad Farooq (Techno Park College, Rajouri), Mohammad Shakeel (MS Khan Computer Institute, Rajouri), and Muddasir Ahmed (NESSOW Institute, Poonch)—to misappropriate Government funds.
The post-matric scholarship scheme, funded by the Government of India, provides financial assistance of Rs 18,000 per student plus a maintenance allowance of Rs 2,300 to help ST students complete their education.
However, the ACB official said that the investigation found that from 2014 to 2018, the Tribal Affairs Department disbursed Rs 1.66 crore to unrecognized institutes without verifying their credentials or ensuring the proper use of the funds.
The institutes, many of which were not accredited or failed to follow proper examination protocols, issued certificates without conducting exams through recognized bodies like NIELIT, he said.
In particular, the NESSOW Institute in Poonch, which lacked proper accreditation, received Rs 33.3 lakh in scholarship funds despite failing to meet the required standards, he added.
He further said that the ACB’s verification showed that these actions resulted in a significant loss to the Government exchequer, with the officials and beneficiaries accused of manipulating records and violating guidelines.
Further investigation into the case is underway, he said.
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