ED attaches fresh assets worth Rs 6 crore in HP scholarship scam case

The Enforcement Directorate has attached fresh assets worth more than Rs 6 crore in connection with an alleged scholarship scam in the Himachal Pradesh higher education department.

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday said it has attached fresh assets worth more than Rs 6 crore as part of a money laundering investigation linked to an alleged scholarship scam in the Himachal Pradesh higher education department.

Modus Operandi

The federal agency said in a statement that a provisional order was issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to attach five immovable properties located in Mohali, Punjab and Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, in the form of residential plots and flats and deposits kept in 14 bank accounts. The properties, worth a total of Rs 6.25 crore, belong to Rajdeep Singh and Krishan Kumar, partners in the ASAMS education group of the state.

Last year, the agency had attached assets worth about Rs 4.42 crore in this case. The two accused, through the ASAMS Education Group and Skill Development Society, claimed scholarship under the post-matric scheme for SC/ST/OBC students by presenting false, forged and fabricated documents, the ED alleged. Such claims were verified by Arvind Rajta, who was posted at the directorate of higher education of the Himachal Pradesh state government.

Arrests

These three apart from Hitesh Gandhi, vice chairman of the KC group of institutions located at Pandoga, were arrested by the agency in August and they are currently in judicial custody.

The ED said the latest attachment of assets has taken the total value of properties seized in this case to Rs 10.67 crore.