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Indian Express
6 days ago
- Indian Express
Scholarship scam: Former registrar of private university granted bail
A Kaithal court has granted bail to a former registrar of a private varsity situated in the town in an alleged scholarship scam observing that 'being an office-bearer in the administration of university, he might have played an active role to give undue benefit to owner of the university but he may not be the actual beneficiary of the alleged fraudulent amount'. The Haryana Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) had arrested former registrar of NIILM university Sumesh Kumar Sharma on May 26 this year. The present case pertains to alleged embezzlement and mis-utilisation of funds of scholarship, which were meant for the upliftment of students belonging to the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe. The said misutilisation was allegedly done by the administration of NIILM University, Kaithal, during the academic year 2013-14 and 2014-15 by making fake admissions of students. After preliminary enquiry, an FIR was registered in 2018. Sharma remained an employee of the university during 2012-14. He has been an associate professor of a Delhi-based institute since 2015. After his arrest in the last week of May, Sharma through his counsel Sartaj Singh and Mahadev Maharaj Singh approached the court for his bail. However, the prosecution opposed his bail plea. The prosecution informed the court that there are 25 accused in the present case, including officials of the university and 17 brokers or agents who allegedly facilitated the admission process. In its order of June 11, the court observed that many co-accused were either already granted anticipatory bail or regular bail. The court noted that the then in-charge of admissions in the university and its vice-chancellor were granted anticipatory bail in 2024 while the then chancellor of the university and wife of its owner was granted anticipatory bail in 2018. Now she is stated to have expired. However, the court observed that the anticipatory bail application of the founder and de-facto owner of the university Vinay Rai was first dismissed by the district court and later by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. He is still at large and stated to be abroad, said the court. The court also observed that accused Sumesh Sharma, in his alleged disclosure statement, stated that he was acting as per the directions of university owner Vinay Rai, who is allegedly the main beneficiary. In his order, Kaithal Additional Sessions Judge Dr Amit Kumar Garg held: 'It is a well-known fact that the private employee has varying level of job security and stability; and one has to work as per the directions of his employer for his faster career growth because private sector is more vulnerable due to economic fluctuations, leading to higher job insecurity and lay-offs. In the private sector, career progression is based upon performance and so, one has to obey the command of his boss/employer.' The court noted during the probe, no recovery of any cash has been made from the accused.
The Hindu
12-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
CPI stages protest against dilution of free education scheme for SC, ST students
The Communist Party of India has sought the intervention of Chief Minister N. Rangasamy in setting right complaints regarding implementation of free education scheme for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe students in the Union Territory. In a petition submitted to the Chief Minister on Thursday, the party said private educational institutions were not strictly following the free education scheme for students belonging to the Adi Dravidar community in the Union Territory. Though the government was providing funds to private educational institutions for implementing the scheme, schools and colleges were demanding additional funds from the students. The government should ensure that funds were provided to the institutions so that they don't charge any additional fee from the students. The government should also hold a meeting between representatives of private educational institutions and officials from the Adi Dravidar and Education departments to sort out the issues in the implementation of the scheme, party Puducherry secretary A. M. Saleem said. Protest held Before the memorandum was submitted to the Chief Minister, party held a demonstration near the Legislative Assembly to protest against the dilution in implementation of the free education scheme for socially marginalised sections.
Hindustan Times
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
ED raids Cong Bellary MP, 3 MLAs in Karnataka Valmiki case
The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday conducted searches against Congress Bellary MP E Tukaram and three MLAs of the party as part of a money laundering investigation into the alleged Valmiki scam-linked money laundering case, official sources said. They said five premises in Bellary and three in Bengaluru city are being searched under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). These include houses belonging to Tukaram and MLAs Nara Bharath Reddy (Bellary city), J N Ganesh (Kampli) and N T Srinivas (Kudligi). The sources said the searches are being conducted in order to gather evidence on the allegation that funds siphoned off from the accounts of the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki ST Development Corporation (KMVSTDC) were used for election expenses -- to distribute cash to voters and Congress workers of the Bellary seat during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Also Read | ED searches on Cong MP, MLAs 'conspiracy' to divide party in Karnataka: Kharge The money laundering case of 2024 stems from FIRs registered by Karnataka Police and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) which alleged that funds worth crores of rupees were diverted from the KMVSTDC and sent to "fake accounts" before being laundered through shell entities. The corporation was established in 2006 with a primary focus on the socio-economic development of the Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities in Karnataka by running welfare schemes for them. The alleged irregularities came to the fore after accounts superintendent of the Valmiki Corporation, Chandrasekharan P, was found dead on May 21 last year. He wrote a suicide note alleging illegal transfer of money from the corporation to various bank accounts. Former Karnataka tribal affairs minister B Nagendra and five others allegedly linked to him were arrested by the ED in this case. Nagendra later got bail. Nagendra told the ED that J G Padmanabha, the managing director of the corporation under his ministry, "fraudulently" transferred funds of the corporation without his knowledge or approval from the board. He denied any wrongdoing and said that he did not benefit personally from the siphoned funds. Also Read | Cong MLA convicted in iron ore export case Padmanabha told the ED that he was acting on the orders of the higher officials, including Nagendra, and he had no real control over the fraudulent activities. Nagendra, an MLA from Bellary rural seat, resigned as minister in the face of these allegations. According to an ED chargesheet filed last year, two of Nagendra's personal assistants and an associate "admitted" to handling large sums of money, which aligns with the broader scheme of siphoning funds for electoral purposes. Nagendra, the agency said, handled a "substantial portion" of the proceeds of crime, primarily in the form of cash, which was used to support activities related to the Lok Sabha elections. "This cash, siphoned from the Valmiki Corporation, was received and distributed by Vijay Kumar Gowda, personal assistant to B Nagendra, under his direct instructions," the ED said. Gowda recorded in his statement with the ED that he had handed over cash to the persons instructed by Nagendra which "eventually went to party workers and voters, following instructions from B Nagendra, for the purpose of election-related activities", the agency said. "To incentivise voters to cast their vote in favour of Sh. E Tukaram, the INC (Congress) candidate, ₹200 was distributed to each voter. "Additionally, ₹10,000 was allocated to each polling booth to compensate the Congress party workers responsible for assisting voters and overseeing the booths," the ED said in its chargesheet filed last year. The ED claimed that the three MLAs "ensured" that the cash was disbursed to voters and party workers in their respective constituencies and this was " corroborated" by the evidence gathered during the investigation. It said that a total of 7,40,112 voters in Bellary were given ₹200 each from the Valmiki funds, totalling more than ₹14 crore, apart from ₹10,000 each to party workers in each booth, totalling over ₹72 lakh. The probe, the ED earlier said, uncovered a "complex" money laundering operation within the corporation with more than ₹187.33 crore intended for welfare schemes being fraudulently siphoned off from the corporation's account between March and May last year.
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Business Standard
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Business Standard
ED raids premises linked to Cong Bellary MP, 3 MLAs in K'taka Valmiki case
The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday conducted searches against Congress' Bellary MP E Tukaram and three MLAs in Karnataka as part of a money laundering probe into the alleged Valmiki scam, official sources said. The sources said premises linked to Tukaram and the three MLAs are being searched under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The money laundering case stems from FIRs registered by Karnataka Police and CBI which alleged that funds worth crores of rupees were diverted from the accounts of the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki ST Development Corporation (KMVSTDC) and sent to "fake accounts" before being laundered through shell entities. The corporation was established in 2006 with a primary focus on the socio-economic development of the Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities in Karnataka by running welfare schemes for them. The ED has alleged that the cash siphoned from the Valmiki funds was used in Bellary constituency during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
NDTV
11-06-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
Probe Agency Raids Congress Bellary MP, 3 MLAs In Karnataka Valmiki Case
Bengaluru: The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday conducted searches against Congress' Bellary MP E Tukaram and three MLAs in Karnataka as part of a money laundering probe into the alleged Valmiki scam, official sources said. The sources said premises linked to E Tukaram and the three MLAs are being searched under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The money laundering case stems from FIRs registered by Karnataka Police and CBI which alleged that funds worth crores of rupees were diverted from the accounts of the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki ST Development Corporation (KMVSTDC) and sent to "fake accounts" before being laundered through shell entities. The corporation was established in 2006 with a primary focus on the socio-economic development of the Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities in Karnataka by running welfare schemes for them. The Enforcement Directorate has alleged that the cash siphoned from the Valmiki funds was used in Bellary constituency during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
