“An interstate gang is involved in the fraud of direct benefit transfer of West Bengal’s Taruner Swapno scheme, where funds meant for students to buy tablets and smartphones have been siphoned to other accounts,” the State police said on Friday (November 15, 2024).
With the tentacles of the alleged scam spreading far and wide and affecting hundreds of beneficiaries across the State, the West Bengal police have set up a joint investigation monitoring team with officials of the criminal investigation department and cybercrime. The members of the team said that the racket behind the fraud may have siphoned funds from similar schemes in Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Jharkhand.
“As per the latest information, 93 cases (FIRs) have been registered, 11 persons have been arrested, and funds meant for 1,911 beneficiaries have been transferred to other accounts,” Supratim Sarkar, Additional Director General and Inspector General of Police, South Bengal, said.
Mr. Sarkar said that three persons were arrested on Thursday (November 14, 2024) from Purba Medinipur, and based on the interrogation of the accused, the police have learnt about the interstate gang. Of the three accused, two are residents of Malda’s Baisnabnagar and one from Chopra in Uttar Dinajpur district.
According to the police, the funds, under the Trauner Swapno Scheme, were transferred to 16 lakh students, but based on the FIRs only 1,911 students have not got funds which is about 0.1% of the total beneficiaries.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also broke her silence on the fraud, calling it an administrative issue. Ms. Banerjee assured that all those students who have not received the money would get their share of the designated funds.
“This kind of hacking has taken place earlier in Maharashtra as well as other states. Police are investigating, and our administration is rough and tough, we will handle this,” the Chief Minister said.
Meanwhile, there are several questions that have come to the fore as to how the accused were able to manipulate the account numbers of beneficiaries in the direct benefit transfer scheme. Also, since most of the arrests have been of residents of Chopra and Malda, there are speculations that these places may have a direct link with the scam. The investigators have refused to elaborate more on the modus operandi but added that Chopra and Malda may be linked with the fraud cartel hub.
The State government’s Taruner Swapno Scheme is aimed to bridge the digital divide among students of West Bengal by providing financial assistance to students to buy smartphones and tablets. Under this scheme a one time grant of ₹10,000 is transferred into the bank account of students at higher secondary classes. In the financial year 2024-25 the West Bengal government has allocated about ₹900 crore for the scheme.
While there have been allegations of irregularities in the implementations of welfare schemes in the State, this is the first time allegations of manipulation of beneficiary lists have come to the fore. The allegations of fraud have surfaced from 15 districts of the State.
Published – November 15, 2024 09:21 pm IST