105-Crore SCERT Scam: 5 Arrested Including Congress Leader Rajesh Joshi

The Chief Minister's Special Vigilance Cell (CM’s SVC) on Wednesday has arrested five persons including a Congress leader in connection with a 105-crore State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) scam in Assam.

The five arrested persons have been identified as Lakhi Narayan Sonowal, Jai Chandra Lahakar, Ramizuddin Ahmed, Sarang Moore and Congress leader Rajesh Joshi (Congress leader).

It is pertinent to mention that Lakhi Narayan Sonowal is the retired SCERT Deputy Director, while, Rajesh Joshi is the son-in-law of suspended SCERT Director-in-Charge Sewali Devi Sarma. The other three arrestees are the SCERT officials.

After a marathon interrogation by the CM’s SVC since the morning hours today, the vigilance cell arrested all the five persons in connection to the above mentioned scam. Later, all the five arrested persons were forwarded for a medical examination.

Meanwhile, CM’s SVC launched a search operation at the residence of suspended IAS officer Sewali Devi Sharma; however, she is believed to have escaped to avoid her arrest.

On the other hand, suspended SCERT Director-in-Charge Sewali Devi Sarma’s second son-in law Ajit Paul Singh (contractor by profession) was also found to be absconding from his residence.

According to reports, the 105- crore SCERT scam involves spending funds in the name of offering a Diploma in Elementary Education (D.El.Ed.) course under the Open Distance Learning (ODL) system. The alleged financial irregularities took place from 2017 to 2022.

The sources reveal that suspended SCERT Director-in-Charge Sewali Devi Sarma gave most of the contracts to her family members, including her in-laws. What is more surprising, according to the sources, is that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) numbers of many of these firms were fake.

Devi allegedly transferred funds from the official bank accounts to the accounts of other employees and then withdrew the money from those accounts. It has also come to light that Sewali Devi Sarma had flouted guidelines and rules and started 347 centres for the D.El.Ed. course under Open Distance Learning (ODL)—288 more than the number of centres for which the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) had given permission. Most of these centres were allegedly fake ones.

The enquiry which is still underway is likely to offer further insight into the nature of the misappropriation and the extent to which other persons were involved.

Also Read: Assam: Suspended IAS Officer Questioned Over Rs 105 Cr Pilferage