A probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation has uncovered an alleged scholarship fraud in Bhopal, where government funds meant for MBA students were allegedly diverted through bank accounts opened without the students’ knowledge. The agency has registered a case against the then senior manager of UCO Bank’s Habibganj branch and five persons associated with the Academy of Management College, Bhopal, after a preliminary enquiry found that nearly Rs 99.48 lakh in government scholarships was siphoned between January 2020 and October 2021.
The Academy of Management is a private, self-financed business school in Bhopal’s Awadhpuri area, established in 2009. It is approved by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and affiliated with Barkatullah University. The case came to light following a complaint filed by Lokesh Kumar, Deputy General Manager and Zonal Head of UCO Bank, Bhopal, alleging irregularities in the opening and operation of 118 bank accounts at the Habibganj branch.
According to the FIR, the accounts had allegedly been opened in the names of MBA students without their knowledge or consent. Government scholarship amounts were then credited into these accounts and withdrawn before the beneficiaries could access them. Investigators allege that the fraud relied on control over the accounts from the time they were opened. The college officials allegedly arranged for the accounts to be opened, linked their own or their associates’ mobile numbers to the accounts, collected the respective ATM cards, and used them to withdraw the scholarship money.
The CBI has named six people as accused in the case, including Prema Verma, the then Senior Manager of UCO Bank’s Habibganj branch. The others are Vinay Malhotra, director of the Academy of Management College, Bhopal; professor Aditya Malhotra; assistant professors Manoj Jain and Vinesh Meshram; and Ram Singh Verma, who was employed by the college at the time. The FIR also names ‘unknown others’.
The CBI alleged that instead of being handed over to the students, debit cards for the accounts were allegedly issued and delivered to a single individual, Ram Singh, without any written authorisation from the account holders. By linking their own mobile numbers to the accounts, the accused allegedly received one-time passwords (OTPs), enabling them to withdraw scholarship funds almost immediately after they were credited.
The CBI has invoked charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery and using forged documents under the Indian Penal Code, along with provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The investigation has been assigned to Inspector Nazim Khan of the CBI’s Anti-Corruption Branch in Bhopal and is expected to examine whether others were involved in the alleged diversion of scholarship funds and whether similar practices were followed in other accounts.
