ED arrests 4 in Himachal scholarship ‘scam’

New Delhi: Four people, including a former official of the Himachal Pradesh higher education directorate, have been arrested in a case linked to an alleged Rs 200 crore scam in grant of scholarships to SC, ST and OBC students of the state, the ED said on Thursday.

They were arrested under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Rajdeep Josan and Krishan Kumar, partners at ASAMS education group, Hitesh Gandhi, vice chairman of KC group of institutions and Arvind Rajta, a former official of the Himachal Pradesh Directorate of Higher Education’s scholarship branch, were taken into custody on Wednesday.

In a statement, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said a special PMLA court in Shimla sent them to its custody for five days. Josan and Kumar through ASAMS education group and skill development society claimed scholarship under the post-matric scheme for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC) students by presenting “fabricated” documents, agency alleged.