Assam: ED raids ex-IAS officer, others in Rs 105 cr SCERT 'fraud' case
(You can now subscribe to our
(You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday carried out searches against retired IAS officer Sewali Devi Sharma and others in an alleged Rs 105 crore scam in the Assam State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), official sources said.At least eight premises connected with Sharma, a former executive chairman-cum-director of the SCERT, and some of her alleged associates were raided under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the sources said.The money laundering case stems from a May 2023 FIR filed by the state police on the directions of the Assam CM's Special Vigilance Cell. She was arrested by the state police from Rajasthan a few days after filing of the complaint.Sharma was subsequently chargesheeted by police for alleged possession of disproportionate assets worth Rs 5.7 crore, according to the sources.The 1992-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer hailed from the Rajasthan cadre and was on deputation to Assam when alleged irregularities worth Rs 105 crore took place during her tenure in the SCERT between 2017 and 2020.Reports said she obtained bail in this case from the Supreme Court in March.The former bureaucrat could not be contacted immediately for a comment on the ED action.Sharma, according to sources, served as the Executive Chairman-cum-Director of Open and Distance Learning Cell (ODL) of the SCERT and was responsible for the implementation of the National Council for Teacher Education 's (NCTE) two-year Diploma in Elementary Education programme.The state government had approved the creation of 59 institutions and the training of 27,897 teachers.However, in comparison, the ex-IAS officer is alleged to have opened 347 study centres and enrolled 1,06,828 trainees to "collect more funds."Sharma, the sources claimed, opened five bank accounts for the ODL Cell, where she was the "sole signatory" and this was in "violation" of government rules.Of the Rs 115 crore she received in fees from individuals, she allegedly spent more than Rs 105 crore without obtaining financial sanction from the state government, the sources alleged.The expenditure was incurred for supplies and execution of works without following the rules and procedures and payments were released without complete supply of materials, and no work was done, they claimed.These contracts, as per ED's probe, were given to entities "owned or controlled" by associates or family members (son-in-law, daughter) of Sharma as well as to a chartered accountant named Sarang More, who was the auditor of the ODL Cell.The contracts were awarded "without" advertisements or invitations for tenders, as stipulated by the government for each procurement of above Rs 5 lakh, sources alleged.Except for two parties, none had any experience in executing work orders awarded to them and payments were made "without" the required receipts or verification of actual supply, the ED claimed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
15 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Not just teachers' salaries, over 5,000 grant in-aid schools in Gujarat to also get funds for infrastructure development
Over 5,000 grant-in-aid secondary and higher secondary schools in Gujarat will now get funds from the state government to develop their infrastructure as well. The state government on Thursday announced financial assistance to schools under Mission School of Excellence 2.0. At present, the state government provides grants only in the form of teachers' salaries or grant per child to such schools. The decision, considered to be a major move towards strengthening secondary and higher secondary education, is said to be in response to demands from the management of grant-in-aid schools in the state. This assistance will be provided in the ratio of 80:20 to grant-in-aid secondary and higher secondary schools affiliated to Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board with the state government bearing the majority of the cost, the Gujarat government announced in a release. This scheme, which will be implemented from the academic year 2025-26 for a period of five years, will benefit nearly 5,100 schools. 'The state government has given a positive response to the demand of the School Management Association by starting this scheme in the wider interest of the education world and school students,' Bhaskar Patel from Gujarat State School Management Association stated. Under the scheme, grants will be made available only once to secondary and higher secondary schools to create infrastructure facilities on their campuses. The grant amount will range from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 1.50 crore, depending on the number of students. The infrastructure facilities for which the schools are eligible to receive assistance under this scheme include construction of missing classrooms, special rooms like library, laboratory, computer lab, vocational room and girls' room; new toilet blocks for male and female students; and drinking water facilities and other major repairs as well as painting of the premises, construction of compound walls and accessible infrastructure facilities required for the differently abled. The schools are required to submit a proposal in the prescribed format with the District Education Officer concerned by September 30. Soon, a Government Resolution (GR) is also expected to be issued for the implementation of this scheme.
Time of India
29 minutes ago
- Time of India
State must act against Paliyekkara toll company: Congress
Thrissur: A day after the Kerala high court suspended the toll collection at Paliyekkara, Congress on Thursday urged the state govt to end all violations. DCC president and district panchayat opposition leader Joseph Tajet said at a press conference that the state govt had not yet spoken a word against the toll collection company despite him drawing its attention to the company's illegal ways many a time. Tajet, who is one of the petitioners against the toll company at the high court, said the state govt must file objections at the Supreme Court if the NHAI or the toll company files an appeal there. Tajet said the company had not implemented the safety measures suggested by the road safety audit team. He disclosed that as per the RTI replies received by him, the company has collected Rs 1,614.26 crore as toll till July this year, though the whole road construction entailed only Rs 721.17 crore. The RTI replies also indicate that a fine of Rs 2,353.92 crore was slapped on the company by the NHAI for various violations. But the company has not remitted it so far and has moved legally against it. The state govt must realise the fine and get the company blacklisted, in collaboration with central govt and NHAI, the Congress functionary said. He said the state govt is a party to the tripartite concessionaire agreement for the road and therefore it has a legal right to intervene to protect the interests of the road users. Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and s ilver prices in your area.
Time of India
30 minutes ago
- Time of India
Israel does not want to occupy or annex Gaza: PM Netanyahu
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel Israel doesn't want to annex or occupy Gaza and its sole aim is to destroy Hamas and hand over the strip to a transitory government, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on prime minister also said that Israel wants to take control of Gaza's security after ending the war as soon as an interaction with a group of visiting Indian journalists, Netanyahu said over two million tonnes of food were sent to Gaza, but the supplies were "interdicted".The Israeli prime minister's comments came amid increasing international criticism of his government over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, as an estimated 60,000 people were killed in the Israeli military offensive in the last 22 launched the war in Gaza after Hamas' attack on October 7, 2023, killed about 1,200 people. Hamas also took 251 people as hostages."Our plan is not to occupy or annex Gaza. Our goal is to destroy Hamas and get our hostages back, and then hand over Gaza to a transitory government," Netanyahu said."We will never hand it (Gaza) over to the Palestinian Authority or Hamas. We will provide overall security. There will be a security perimeter provided by us," he said."We want to end the war very soon. It will be over speedily. If Hamas concedes and lays down their arms and frees hostages, it will be over tomorrow. Even Palestinians in Gaza are fighting Hamas," the Israeli prime minister said Israel wants to make Gaza a "de-militarised" zone."We are looking at ending the war very soon. We are focusing on winning the war," he is also facing increasing international pressure on the scarcity of food and medicine in Gaza. However, Netanyahu rejected the criticism."We have supplied over 2 million tonnes of food. However, the supplies were interdicted. We let thousands of trucks carrying food go to Gaza," he claimed."I decided to open up the transit routes for aid trucks. The problem has been with the distribution. Hamas caused the humanitarian crisis."To a question, Netanyahu said he would like to come to India is a huge scope to expand India-Israel cooperation, including in areas of intelligence sharing, countering terrorism, he US President Donald Trump imposing a 50 per cent tariff on India, he said it will be of interest to both countries to resolve the tariff issue.
