The Hindu : Startling revelations in scholarship muddle

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jun 17, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Andhra Pradesh

Startling revelations in scholarship muddle

By M. Malleswara Rao

Hyderabad June 16. The riddle regarding the multi-crore scholarship muddle was solved on Sunday with R. Motia Naik, a former Social Welfare hostel warden, and D. Shankar Rao, an accountant in the office of Hyderabad District Social Welfare Officer (HDSWO), being identified as the two kingpins behind the racket.

U. Santhosh Kumar, owner of Kumar theatre at Kacheguda, now working as district Social Welfare officer, was identified as conspirator. Naik and Kumar were arrested and were being remanded to judicial custody along with six others. Shankara Rao and Ch. Suryanarayana, assistant pay & accounts officer in the Pay & Accounts Office (PAO), Hyderabad, who passed the forged bills however, were at large.

Four of the six others being kept in judicial custody were from PAO and two from HDSWO. They were K. Venkateswara Rao, Praveen Chander, both auditors (scholarship), G. Indrasena, superintendent, Ch. Suryanarayana, an assistant pay accounts officer, all PAO, and K. Prabhakara Rao and M. Anjaiah, both from HDSWOs at different points of time who colluded with the kingpins.

As the case reached its logical end today, startling revelations were available about Naik, Shankara Rao etc and their properties acquired with the scholarship amounts. The properties of all the accused have been marked for confiscation and attachment and their banks accounts frozen.

It was found that he created six fake colleges on paper as existing in different city localities--DVR, Chanakya, Alekhya, Global, Mesco and RSM--and drew scholarships with active connivance of the aforesaid Social Welafre staff headed by Shankara Rao and PAO personnel. Naik acquired six buildings in Hyderabad, including a commercial complex, "Naik Vihar'', a complex housing a school and college and school complex, all in Langarhouz, a plot in Karwan, an apartment in Ameerpet, five properties, including a building in Mahabubnagar district in which Divya Teja School works, a three-acre poultry farm and eight acres of agricultural land, both at Kadthal. The CCS estimated their value at around Rs 10 crores.

It was found that accounts existed in his and his relatives name in Andhra Bank, Mehdipatnam and Canara Bank, Kadthal, in which a balance of Rs 1 crore and Rs 10 lakhs existed, and they were frozen.

Shankar Rao, on the other hand, created five other colleges--Shivaji, Priyanka Gandhi, Citizen, Keys and Aditya. Huge properties were found in his name, including palatial houses at Vijayanagar and Kamalapuri colonies, and a three-storey buidling at Krishnanagar, all estimated at Rs 2.5 crores. He was also found having acquired 400 acres in Zaheerabad, and was dealing in autorickshaws. Autos worth Rs 7 lakhs were seized.

Another revelation was that both of them were found having embezzled tuition fees after floating fake schools earlier from 1994 to 1998. The other players in the racket were extended the benefit of kickbacks.

Regarding Santhosh Kumar, it was found that he conspired with Naik and Shankar Rao, in "frauding and forging'', and received kickbacks in return. There were 417 listed colleges under his jurisdiction but he avoided benefit to them but chose to pass bills pertaining to the fictitious colleges of the accused. The CCS said, he had also acquired huge properties in the city, including the theatre which was purchased in 2000 and worth Rs 5 crores. The other assets included house at Himayatnagar, complexes at Barkatpura, Puranpul and Narayanguda, and 100 other properties worth Rs 15 crores.

The Minister for Social Welfare, J. R. Pushpa Raju, said the investigation was progressing at a brisk pace to locate further properties.

Principals lose drawal power

Meanwhile, the Government announced its decision withdrawing "drawal and dibursement'' powers given to principal of colleges and conferring the same on district social/tribal welfare officers regarding post-matric scholarships to SC/ST students as done in the case of their BC counterparts.

The transfer of powers would come into force with immediate effect along with a few other measures with which the three Ministers dealing with Social (SC), BC and ST welfares, J. R. Pushpa Raju, N. Narasimha Rao and M. Manikumari, came out on Sunday at a crowded joint press conference to tighten nuts and bolts in the scholarship system.

Mr Pushpa Raju said the Government had already taken stringent steps such as handing over the investigation to a special team headed by K. Narasimha Rao, DCP of Central Crime Station, and suspension of the four employees in the Pay & Accounts Office (PAO), and the superintendent/senior assistant in the office of the Hyderabad district Social Welfare officer, all found guilty in the muddle.Among the other ''urgent steps'' disclosed by them to stem the rot was fixation of September 30 as the deadline for receiving applications for post-matric scholarships under the three departments.

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Startling revelations in scholarship muddle