Himachal Pradesh Police registers case in multi-crore scholarship scam

The Himachal Pradesh Police on Saturday registered a case here in a multi-crore scholarship scam in the state Education Department during the previous Congress government led by Virbhadra Singh.

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur had earlier assured that the matter would be thoroughly probed and could be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The scam was unearthed by the current Bharatiya Janata Party government following reports that students of government schools in the remote Lahaul-Spiti district had not been paid scholarships for the past five years.

A preliminary inquiry revealed that the scam ran into Rs 100 crore to Rs 150 crore.

The scandal came to light during the review of the schemes of the Education Department.

(With inputs from agencies.)