Snehamoy Chakraborty
In a crackdown on cyber fraud, West Bengal police have arrested four youths involved in stealing government funds meant to provide tablets and smartphones to students under the Taruner Swapna scheme. The arrests were made across different districts, including North Dinajpur, East Burdwan, and Malda.
The scheme, launched by the state government, was intended to help students from government-aided schools purchase digital learning devices. However, hundreds of students reported that they had not received the ₹10,000 allocated for the purchase, prompting investigations into the missing funds.
East Midnapore police arrested three suspects – Siddique Hossain, Mobarak Hossain, and Asirul Haque – from various locations in North Dinajpur. A fourth individual, Hasem Ali, was arrested by East Burdwan police from Baishnabnagar in Malda, in connection with a similar case.
Police investigations revealed that the suspects, who were tech-savvy, had gained unauthorized access to the government’s education portal. By manipulating the system, they transferred the funds meant for students to unknown accounts. Authorities are now investigating whether the youths were part of a larger organized racket and whether any insiders from the education department were involved.
As complaints flooded the school education department about the missing funds, a probe was initiated, leading to the arrests of these four individuals. Police are continuing to examine the extent of the fraud and are working to identify any further connections within the system.
The arrests have raised concerns about the security of government portals and the need for stronger safeguards to prevent such financial thefts, especially involving funds meant for students’ education.
