Scholarship scam: ED attaches Vardhman Educational Society’s assets worth Rs 1 crore

Dehradun: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has attached assets of Vardhman Educational Society for allegedly siphoning off government funds received under the SC/ST scholarship scheme, purportedly for personal usage.

The ED attached its immovable property in form of a land and building situated in Haridwar, Uttarakhand, under the provisions of PMLA 2002. The property is valued at about Rs 1 crore.

Vardhaman Educational Society runs Institute of Management Studies and IMS Institute of Technology, both at Roorkee.

The ED, in its investigation, found that Vardhman Educational Society fraudulently received the amount for scholarship from the Social Welfare Department, Hardiwar, for the period 2013-14 to 2016-17. The money which was meant for providing scholarship to needy and deprived students was siphoned off into personal accounts of college owners and the Chairman of the education society.

The ED further found that the institution had made fraudulent claims to obtain the sum under the SC/ST scholarship scheme, before diverting the amount into bank accounts of the owners.