A major scam involving government scholarship funds has come to light in Bhopal, where fraudsters siphoned off nearly Rs 1 crore through fake bank accounts. The CBI has registered an FIR against six accused, including officials of UCO Bank and people linked to a private management college, after finding that bank accounts were opened in the names of several MBA students without their knowledge, and scholarship money transferred into those accounts was later withdrawn.
How the fraud was carried out
According to the CBI, the entire scam unfolded between January 2020 and October 2021. The investigation found that officials of a private management college in Bhopal and UCO Bank's Habibganj branch worked together to open 118 bank accounts. What makes the case more startling is that many of the students in whose names these accounts were opened had neither applied for the scholarship nor ever opened a bank account themselves. Investigators say close to Rs 99.48 lakh in scholarship money was deposited into these 118 accounts, and the funds were then withdrawn using ATM cards and OTPs. The students whose names were used had no idea such accounts even existed in their names.
How the scam came to light
The case surfaced after UCO Bank's Bhopal zonal office flagged several accounts and transactions as suspicious and filed a complaint. Acting on that complaint, the CBI launched a preliminary inquiry. A review of bank records, account opening documents and scholarship payment records uncovered a string of serious irregularities. As per the FIR, application forms for opening accounts were prepared in the students' names and forged signatures were put on them. In many cases, the KYC process was not followed at all, while in others, the formalities were completed using incorrect documents. The investigation also found that some bonafide certificates the college had submitted to the bank were fake as well.
OTPs went to college staff, not students
A key part of the CBI's investigation revealed that the mobile numbers linked to many of these accounts belonged to people associated with the college, not to the students themselves. This meant every OTP generated for these accounts landed on the phones of college staff instead of the students. On top of that, the debit cards issued by the bank were handed over to a college employee rather than to the students. As soon as scholarship money landed in an account, it was withdrawn through an ATM. The students had no role in any of this, simply because they did not even know accounts existed in their names.
Six booked, probe widens
The CBI has booked six people in the case, including the bank's then senior manager. The agency is now examining whether similar fraud took place involving other colleges and bank accounts. If fresh evidence emerges during the investigation, the role of more people could come under the scanner.
