Rajasthan Police have arrested two people from West Bengal for allegedly stealing money meant for minority students through fake applications and forged digital records.
Superintendent of Police Harsh Vardhan Agarwala said the action came after a complaint by the Ajmer Minority Welfare Officer, alleging that scholarships under the Union government schemes in 2021-22 and 2022-23 were being misappropriated. False information was allegedly entered on the National Scholarship Portal (NSP) to fraudulently claim benefits in the names of minority students.
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) investigating the matter used technical evidence and cyber tracking to trace the suspects, Tobar Rahman, 35, and Suhajaman, 25, to Uttar Dinajpur district in West Bengal. The suspects were brought to Ajmer.
A police investigation showed the exploitation of vulnerabilities in the online application and document verification system. They allegedly collected information online, used fake mobile SIM cards and Aadhaar related details to submit fraudulent scholarship applications and transfer money to their accounts.
Police said they seized 85 mobile SIM cards, two laptops, two printers, seven fingerprint scanners, ATM cards, three mobile phones and other digital devices from the two. Fake documents and personal data were found stored in the gadgets.
SIT in-charge Shivam Joshi said the preliminary investigation indicated widespread irregularities under the scholarship program in Rajasthan. In the initial stage, the probe found that the matter was over $5 lakh were smuggled through bank accounts mainly in Ajmer district.
Police suspect that the accused took advantage of the Covid-19 pandemic, when physical verification was limited and most operations shifted online, to carry out the fraud without attracting attention. The accused created a structured fake database using forged fingerprints and fabricated identity records, Joshi said.
The police found that the digital devices contained details of about 2,100 bank account numbers and account holders, nearly 1,000 fingerprints, 2,000 Aadhaar cards along with photographs, and about 1,500 stamp images. Investigators believe all of these documents were forged and were used as part of a larger organized fraud.
The arrested defendants were transferred to judicial custody after being held in police custody. Police teams continued their raids to arrest four to five fleeing gang members.
Officials said the case is unique because it involves a highly organized attempt to manipulate the central scholarship portal using fake digital identities and biometric data.
Senior officials in Rajasthan were closely monitoring the matter as police continued their investigations to determine the entire network, its financial path and possible links in other regions.
