Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) inquiries into irregularities reported in ‘Shaadi Mubarak’, a welfare scheme for minorities, might result in criminal and disciplinary action against a few more officials of the Revenue and Minority Welfare Department.
The State government had launched the Shaadi Mubarak scheme in October 2014, under which an assistance of Rs. 51,000 is given to the girl at the time of marriage.
ACB director general A.K. Khan ordered officials to verify details of beneficiaries in the Shaadi Mubarak scheme following allegations that it was being misused. ACB officials randomly selected files relating to beneficiaries in each district.
On Friday, the ACB arrested Taheeruddin who works as a senior assistant in the Minority Welfare Department, Ranga Reddy district, after they found out that a woman, Sultana Begum of Saroornagar, who was shown as beneficiary in the records, told the officials that she never applied for the scheme. Interestingly, in the records, Sultana was sanctioned Rs. 51,000 and the money was deposited in her bank account.
Shocked over the revelation, the ACB officials checked the documents and found out that the fraudsters had furnished Income Tax documents, her photo and Aadhaar card along with the application without her knowledge.
A wedding card too was printed and a photograph of a stranger was used as bridegroom in the application.
“Taheruddin authenticated the application stating that he had personally visited Ms. Sultana’s house, verified the documents and cleared her name as beneficiary of the scheme. An account was also opened with Indian Bank on her name by furnishing falsified documents and the money was withdrawn,” ACB DSP M. Prabhakar told media personnel while announcing his arrest.
On March 24, a Meeseva operator, Mohd Zahed Ali, was also caught by the ACB officials and the police for cheating a beneficiary and siphoning of around Rs. 30,000. Zaher from Bahadurpura was formally arrested by the police on charges of duping a woman, Fouziya Begum of Asadbabanagar, of Rs. 30,000.
Fouziya had approached Zahed and sought his help in getting Rs. 51,000 given under the Shaadi Mubarak scheme for her daughter.
However, the Meeseva operator siphoned off Rs. 30,000 saying that the family is not entitled for the scheme as the marriage took place in Aurangabad.
The ACB officials are also probing the role of a few outsourced employees of the Minority Welfare Department, Hyderabad district, who reportedly helped Zahed. The role of a local Revenue officials is also being probed.
According to sources, a few leaders belonging to various political parties and brokers are working in tandem with Meeseva operators, Revenue and Minority Welfare Department officials and are siphoning off government money.
The officials also found out that a few persons were instantly paying between Rs. 35,000 and Rs. 40,000 to the beneficiaries and collecting their passbook and ATM cards. “They are getting the amount sanctioned and withdrawing the money using ATM cards,” a police official said.
“We cannot rule out possibility of a larger scam. Now we are verifying a few files that were randomly picked up from the offices. In a few cases, the local staff of Minority Welfare Department had colluded with brokers and collected commission to sanction the money,” an ACB official said. A few more teams are also conducting inquiries across all the districts in the State.
