With the number of arrests in West Bengal’s ‘Taruner Swapna Scheme’ fraud case increasing, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday alleged external links with criminals in other States belonging to the ‘Jamtara gang’ – a cybercrime group based in Jharkhand.
According to senior police officials, a total of 27 people have been arrested so far from across West Bengal, including Kolkata, in connection with the alleged scam that has affected hundreds of school students.
Taruner Swapna Scheme is a direct benefit transfer scheme aimed at bridging the digital divide among Class 11 and 12 students of the State by providing financial assistance for the purchase of smartphones and tablets. Under this scheme, beneficiaries would receive ₹10,000 directly in their bank accounts.
Earlier this month, irregularities in the disbursement of funds under this scheme had come to the fore when hundreds of beneficiaries claimed they did not receive the money or that their grants were withdrawn without their knowledge from elsewhere.
“So far, under the Taruner Swapna Scheme, the government has disbursed benefits worth ₹1,600 crore,” the Chief Minister said. “Nearly ₹2 crore has been siphoned off by criminals, affecting around 1900 beneficiaries across the State.”
The Chief Minister also alleged that criminals belonging to the ‘Jamtara gang’ are involved in the fraud and claimed that these inter-State criminals have been coming into and settling down in West Bengal to strengthen their nexus. Earlier, the police had also alleged the involvement of inter-State criminals in the frauds surrounding the scheme.
Meanwhile, according to a senior official of the West Bengal Crime Investigation Department (CID), around 1,190 bank accounts with a total value of nearly ₹50 lakh have been frozen in connection with the case.
Most of the criminals being nabbed are from Uttar Dinajpur’s Chopra and Islampur areas, police sources said. Arrests were also made from districts such as Malda and Cooch Behar.
CM targets Centre
The Chief Minister on Thursday also targeted the Centre, saying it has not done anything despite countries bordering the State facing tumultuous situations. While she did not make any reference to Bangladesh, she said that her government has to tackle everything from the influx of fake Indian currency notes to cattle smuggling.
While the Trinamool Congress leadership blames the Border Security Force (BSF) for smuggling across the India-Bangladesh border, sources in the BSF allege that the State government has not provided land for fencing of the border with Bangladesh.
The CM called for more checks along the borders, both with other countries and adjoining States.
Published - November 22, 2024 12:58 am IST
