Scholarship fraud: ACB registers case

The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Wednesday registered a formal case against five officials, including a former director, and several private individuals in connection with the alleged misappropriation of funds under the post-matric scholarship scheme for Scheduled Tribe (ST) students in Jammu and Kashmir.

An FIR has been registered under the Jammu and Kashmir Prevention of Corruption Act against the then director of tribal affairs Mohammad Sharief Choudhary, then assistant director Muzaffar Wani, then junior assistant Gulzar Hussain, then in-charge computer assistant Javed Ahmed, and then head assistant Shaheen Naqishbandi as well as several private individuals who owned educational institutes in the Rajouri and Poonch districts, a spokesperson for the ACB said.

The case stems from an ACB investigation into allegations that officials misused funds meant for scholarships under government’s Post Matric scholarship scheme.