Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], July 17 (ANI): Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has directed a thorough investigation into suspicious entries on the National Scholarship Portal (NSP), following reports of irregularities in minority scholarship applications, the Chief Minister's Office said in a press release on Thursday

The case involves institutions, including Saraswati Shishu Mandir in Kichha, which has also come to light. The Special Secretary of the Minority Welfare Department has been directed to conduct an investigation. Corruption cases will not be tolerated in Devbhoomi under any circumstances.

It is worth noting that upon learning about the case of schools funded by the Central Government receiving scholarships by being designated as minority schools or madrasas on paper, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has ordered the Special Secretary of the Minority Welfare Department to conduct a thorough investigation. This matter is currently being investigated by the Special Secretary for Minority Welfare, Dr. Parag Madhukar Dhakate.

According to the information, to verify the authenticity of minority scholarship applicants registered on the National Scholarship Portal for 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 in Udham Singh Nagar district, details about the documents of 796 children from Udham Singh Nagar district were sought. Out of these, information about 456 children studying in 6 madrasas / educational institutions has been found suspicious. The special thing is that the name of Saraswati Shishu Mandir High School, Kichha, is also included in these schools.

From here, the issue of rigging has come to the fore because, firstly, Saraswati Shishu Mandir is not a minority school, and secondly, its director is reportedly Mohammad Shariq-Atiq. According to the National Scholarship Portal, 154 Muslim children are said to be studying here. The government is also shocked to see these names on the National Scholarship Portal, and after which, Chief Minister Dhami has given instructions to thoroughly investigate.

According to the information, instructions have been issued to verify the status of 125 Muslim students studying at the National Academy JMYIHS of Kashipur, as well as its Director, Gulshafa Ansari, and 27 children of Madrasa Al Jamia Ul Madaria, and its Director, Mohammad Faizan.

Apart from this, instructions have been given to check the documents of Javed Ahmed, director of Madrasa Albia Rafiq Ul Uloom Ghansara Bajpur and 39 children here, 24 children of Madrasa Jamia Aaliya of Gadarpur, possibly in the name of this Javed Ahmed and to verify 85 children of Madrasa Jamia Raza Ul Uloom Bajpur and director Irshad Ali.

The Secretary of Minority Welfare has directed the District Minority Welfare Officer of Udham Singh Nagar, Nandini Singh, to thoroughly investigate all these cases.

After the matter came to light, on the instructions of Chief Minister Dhami, all such minority educational institutions of Uttarakhand state registered in the National Scholarship Portal have been asked to submit a report within two weeks, instructing them to verify the applicants ' information, including bank account details for payment, for both operators and students.

In this regard, Special Secretary Minority Welfare Dr. Parag Madhukar Dhakate said that along with the cases of minority scholarship by a particular class in the name of Saraswati Shishu Mandir coming to light, doubts have arisen regarding the applications registered in the National Scholarship by other madrasas, instructions have been received from the Chief Minister to investigate this matter thoroughly. An investigation is being conducted throughout the entire state, and communication is being maintained with the Ministry of the Central Government. (ANI)