ACB files charge-sheet against former ZEO, three others in Rs 8.3L scholarship scam

Excelsior Correspondent
KUPWARA, July 3: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) Kashmir has filed a charge-sheet against four former officers and officials of the Education Department, including a then Zonal Education Officer (ZEO), in Tangdhar, Kupwara for allegedly embezzling scholarship funds meant for Pahari-speaking and Gujjar-Bakerwal students during 2010-2011.
As per an ACB official, the case pertains to fraudulent disbursement of funds during the tenure of then Zonal Education Officer (ZEO) Tangdhar, Mohammad Ashraf Bhat. The other accused include then Junior Assistants Mohammad Ashraf Paswal and Razia Bano, and then Zonal Gender Coordinator Shafiqa Rafiq.
He said the investigations revealed that the officials conspired to insert over 750 fictitious names in the scholarship disbursement registers and misappropriated funds meant for genuine beneficiaries.
According to the ACB official, the probe also established that the accused inflated beneficiary numbers and secured excess scholarship funds from the Chief Education Officer Kupwara.
“A total of Rs 8.3 lakh was allegedly siphoned off through fake entries, with signatures of local representatives fraudulently obtained on utilization certificates to show that funds had been properly distributed,” he said.
The ACB also found that the Junior Assistant Mohammad Ashraf Paswal received Rs 5 lakh directly into his personal bank account, which he later withdrew in ten cash instalments.
“He is already facing trial in a separate disproportionate assets case,” the ACB official said.
He said the chargesheet has been filed under sections of the Jammu and Kashmir Prevention of Corruption Act, Samvat 2006, and the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC) for criminal misconduct, forgery, use of forged documents, and criminal conspiracy.
After obtaining sanction for prosecution, all four accused were presented before the Additional Special Judge Anti-Corruption Court Baramulla and were released on personal bonds, the ACB official said.
The court has fixed September 10, 2025, as the next date of hearing.

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