STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Guwahati Zonal Office, provisionally attached movable and immovable assets worth Rs 6.40 crore under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in connection with a case involving former IAS officer Sewali Devi Sharma and others.
The investigation began following an FIR filed by the Vigilance Police Station, Chief Minister's Special Cell, Assam, against Sewali Devi Sharma and her associates under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act for allegedly misusing government funds amounting to about Rs 105.76 crore.
The ED's investigation revealed that between 2017 and 2021, during her tenure as Executive Chairman-cum-Director of the ODL Cell, SCERT, Assam, Sharma unlawfully approved 347 study centres and enrolled 1,06,828 trainees, despite government sanction for only 59 study centres and 27,897 trainees under the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), New Delhi, for the two-year D.El.Ed. programme through distance mode.
Through this unauthorized expansion, she collected Rs 115.12 crore in fees from trainees and opened five bank accounts in the name of the ODL Cell without government authorization. She failed to deposit the funds in the government treasury and instead diverted large amounts to her personal accounts and those of her family members and associates. The misappropriated funds were used to acquire several movable and immovable properties in their names.
Further investigation into the case is currently under progress.
Also Read: Guwahati: Money Laundering Case against Retired IAS Officer Sewali Devi Sharma