Paonta Sahib/Panchkula: In a major development in the much-discussed Himachal Pradesh scholarship scam, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached five immovable properties worth Rs 18.27 crore belonging to the Himalayan Group. The action was taken under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
The attached properties include 125 bighas of land in Paonta Sahib, Sirmaur, registered under Maa Saraswati Educational Trust, and two flats in Panchkula. A joint ED team from Chandigarh and Shimla carried out the operation on Friday. This comes nearly 15 days after the arrest of Vikas Bansal, brother of Himalayan Group MD Rajneesh Bansal, from Panchkula. Vikas Bansal is currently lodged in Shimla jail.
The scam pertains to the fraudulent disbursement of Rs 181 crore in scholarship funds meant for students from SC, ST, and OBC categories between 2013 and 2017. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had initially registered two cases of fraud against 29 educational institution operators in Himachal Pradesh. The ED later initiated a money laundering investigation into the case.
During the probe, it was found that the scholarship amount was siphoned off by falsely confirming the enrollment of students who had never been admitted to these institutions. Further, fraudulent claims were made by manipulating details on the HP-E Pass portal (scholarship portal of the Department of Higher Education, Shimla). Institutions were found to have changed students’ courses, caste categories, and residency statuses from day scholars to boarders to claim higher scholarships. False fee structures were also submitted for distance education programs.
Before this latest attachment, the ED had seized cash worth Rs 80 lakh, frozen bank deposits amounting to Rs 2.80 crore, and confiscated movable and immovable assets worth Rs 10.67 crore. The Himalayan Group of Professional Institutions in Kala Amb, also registered under Maa Saraswati Educational Trust, has now been attached under the money laundering probe.
