Several political leaders are involved in scholarship scam, says Muminul Aowal

GUWAHATI: Several political leaders are involved in the scam in various scholarship schemes meant for minority students in Assam, alleged the Assam Minority Development Board (AMDB) chairman Muminul Aowal on Friday.

Talking to the mediapersons, AMDB chairman Muminul Aowal underlined that in the last four financial years a total of Rs 501.46 crore has been released for various minority scholarship schemes across the State.

"Students from around 1,000 schools had applied for the scholarships. Out of the total amount - Rs 501.46 crore, a huge amount has been swindled. On July 26 we submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister demanding a high-level inquiry for the scam. Under the CM's order, CID (Criminal Investigation Department) probe has been initiated," he said.

Further, Aowal alleged that various middlemen, head of education institutions, bank officials, and CSP (Customer Service Point) officials are involved in the scam.

"In this regard, the AMDB has filed 17 cases in CID and various police stations of the State. Many persons were arrested during the investigations but were later released due to lacunae in the law," he asserted.

He informed the mediapersons that the CID's investigation is underway and two employees from the AMDB were grilled by the sleuths on Friday.

"In Nagaon, as many as 51 CSPs are involved in the corruption and all the necessary documents regarding the allegations have been submitted to the police," Aowal said.

He stressed that there is a possibility that many fake institutions are involved in the scam whose physical existence is questionable.

He pointed out that scholarship was granted to 332 students of a suspected fake institution named Hami AK Roshul College in Nagaon where each student received Rs 30,000.

"The students of the institution had received a total of Rs 96.80 lakh and the owner of the college has already been arrested. Similarly, various institutions from Boko Constituency have also indulged in the same practice," he underlined.

He reiterated that various political leaders including from the Congress and the AIUDF are involved in the scams that took place in Barak Valley.

"Some BJP leaders are also playing roles in the scam. In the further investigation, all the names of the involved persons will be highlighted," he said.

Further, the leader took pot shots at three Minority MLAs who have 'criticized' him for raising his voice against the scams.

He said the MLAs who slammed him have been maintaining silence and have not said anything against the schools whose names have come under the radar for conducting the scam.

Lastly, Aowal appealed to the people to submit applications to the AMDB if they have any allegations regarding the scholarships. Applauding the State government led by Chief Minister Sarbanada Sonowal, he said it has taken stringent measures against corruption following which many have been arrested in the APSC scam.

This is the biggest scam in the history of the State which has been done by heads of educational institutions, the leader added.

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