A massive financial fraud involving government scholarship funds has emerged from Bhopal, shaking the foundations of both the academic and banking sectors in Madhya Pradesh. The scandal centers on the creation of illicit bank accounts in the names of MBA students who were entirely unaware that their credentials had been misappropriated. Government scholarship money was funneled into these accounts, only to be withdrawn by college management and bank officials in a sophisticated collusion. Following the discovery of this 1 crore scam, the CBI has registered an FIR against six individuals, including a bank manager. Authorities are now expanding their investigation to determine if this fraudulent activity extends to other colleges or additional unauthorized accounts.
Preliminary findings from the CBI investigation reveal that the scheme was meticulously executed between January 2020 and October 2021. During this period, individuals associated with a private management college in Bhopal allegedly colluded with officials from the Habibganj branch of UCO Bank to siphon off government funds.
Accounts opened without students' knowledge
According to the investigating agency, a total of 118 bank accounts were opened in the names of MBA students as part of this operation. Shockingly, the students themselves were completely oblivious to these accounts. They had neither applied for scholarships nor visited the bank, yet their identities were used to facilitate the inflow of government financial aid. Official records indicate that approximately 99 lakh 48 thousand rupees were deposited into these accounts, only to be withdrawn by the suspects before the intended beneficiaries could ever access them.
Complaint by UCO Bank Zonal Head
The scam came to light when Lokesh Kumar, the Zonal Head and Deputy General Manager of UCO Bank, filed a complaint regarding suspicious transactions and unauthorized account operations. Following this, the CBI launched an investigation, scrutinizing bank records, account opening forms, and transaction logs. The FIR reveals that the fraud began at the very point of account creation. College authorities allegedly prepared the paperwork using the students' names, forging signatures and falsifying personal information. Mandatory Know Your Customer (KYC) protocols were either ignored entirely or bypassed using forged documentation.
Contact information and unauthorized access
A critical component of the fraud involved linking mobile numbers controlled by college staff to these accounts rather than the students' own numbers. This ensured that all One-Time Passwords (OTPs) and transaction alerts went directly to the perpetrators, keeping the real students in the dark about the massive sums of money being moved in their names.
Misuse of ATM cards
In blatant violation of banking regulations, the ATM cards issued for these accounts were never handed over to the students. Instead, the CBI discovered that all debit cards were handed over to a college employee named Ram Singh Verma. Contrary to banking norms that mandate delivering cards directly to the account holder, these were used by the accused to withdraw funds immediately upon the receipt of government scholarships. In many instances, withdrawals were made almost instantly to avoid drawing any attention to the fraudulent activities.
Charges against Senior Bank Manager
The CBI has levelled serious allegations against Prema Verma, the then-Senior Manager at UCO Bank. The investigation asserts that as a bank official, it was her responsibility to verify documents, ensure KYC compliance, and confirm account holder identity. By failing to perform these duties and deliberately ignoring blatant irregularities, she facilitated the embezzlement. The accused now face charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act, in addition to counts of cheating, forgery, and the use of fake documents.
Identified suspects and scope of investigation
The list of accused includes Prema Verma, college director Vinay Malhotra, professor Aditya Malhotra, assistant professor Manoj Jain, assistant professor Vinesh Meshram, and employee Ram Singh Verma. While the college director, Vinay Malhotra, has denied the allegations and suggested that the role of bank officials requires deeper scrutiny, the college administration insists it is cooperating with the probe. The CBI is currently analyzing digital evidence, call logs, ATM transaction data, and CCTV footage to determine the full extent of the network. Further arrests and revelations are expected as the agency probes whether this was limited to the 118 accounts or part of a much larger web of corruption.
