Six individuals were arrested on Wednesday for allegedly misappropriating funds released by the state government for the purchase of tablets for students. The Kolkata Police arrested two suspects in North Dinajpur’s Chopra, identified as Krishnapada Barman (38) and Sariful Islam, while the East Burdwan Police and Baishnabnagar PS arrested four others in Malda — Rocky Sk (32), Sraban Sarkar (24), Jamal Hossain (30), and Pintu Sk (25).
This brings the total number of arrests to 10, with over 800 cases of misappropriation filed across West Bengal. Of these, 63 cases have been registered in Kolkata alone. Police are now investigating whether the arrested individuals have any links to cyber crimes, particularly Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AEPS) fraud, though no connections have been established yet.
The fraud came to light on Tuesday when it was alleged that funds intended for purchasing tablets did not reach the accounts of 31 students at a school in Sarsuna. Authorities revealed that one of the arrested individuals was a farmer, and the fraudulent transactions were conducted through a cyber cafe. According to a senior police officer, the investigation led to the identification of Krishnapada Barman and Sariful Islam, both believed to be involved in the scheme. These individuals were allegedly mule account holders, receiving Rs 300 for every Rs 1,000 transferred into their accounts.
The arrests followed interrogations with Hashem Ali, who was detained earlier from Baishnabnagar. Among the arrested, one suspect is a contractual computer teacher at Bhagabanpur KBS School in Malda. Rocky Sk is accused of providing login credentials for multiple school accounts, facilitating the fraudulent transactions.
