Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Five school directors in the city have landed in legal trouble for allegedly duping the Minority Welfare Department of the state government by submitting fake data to claim scholarship money meant for minority students.

A case has been registered, and investigations are underway, though no arrests had been made till the filing of this report.

According to DCP (Crime) Rajesh Kumar Tripathi, the fraud came to light following a complaint by the assistant director of the minority department.

The accused allegedly siphoned off Rs 12.50 lakh by falsely claiming they had to disburse scholarships to over 125 students of Class IX and X from a minority community.

The complaint stated that the schools provided fabricated information, leading to the transfer of funds into specific bank accounts. “We are verifying the financial transactions and identifying all the bank accounts linked to the scam,” said Tripathi.

Two of the schools involved are located in Khajrana and one in the Chandan Nagar area of the city. The remaining two are also under scrutiny, and their locations are being verified.

Preliminary findings reveal that the accused mentioned the names of over 125 students to justify the scholarship claims. A special team from the Crime Branch has been formed to arrest the culprits and recover the forged documents. Investigators will also speak with students to confirm if they ever received any scholarship benefits.