Assam: ED raids ex IAS officer, others in Rs 105-cr SCERT 'fraud' case

Guwahati: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday carried out searches against retired IAS officer Sewali Devi Sharma and others in an alleged Rs 105 crore scam in the Assam State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), official sources said.

At least eight premises connected with Sharma, a former executive chairman-cum-director of the SCERT, and some of her alleged associates were raided under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the sources said.

The money laundering case stems from a May 2023 FIR filed by the state police on the directions of the Assam CM's Special Vigilance Cell. She was arrested by the state police from Rajasthan a few days after filing of the complaint.

Sharma was subsequently chargesheeted by police for alleged possession of disproportionate assets worth Rs 5.7 crore, according to the sources.

The 1992-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer hailed from the Rajasthan cadre and was on deputation to Assam when alleged irregularities worth Rs 105 crore took place during her tenure in the SCERT between 2017 and 2020.

Reports said she obtained bail in this case from the Supreme Court in March.

The former bureaucrat could not be contacted immediately for a comment on the ED action.

Sharma, according to sources, served as the Executive Chairman-cum-Director of Open and Distance Learning Cell (ODL) of the SCERT and was responsible for the implementation of the National Council for Teacher Education's (NCTE) two-year Diploma in Elementary Education programme.

The state government had approved the creation of 59 institutions and the training of 27,897 teachers.

However, in comparison, the ex-IAS officer is alleged to have opened 347 study centres and enrolled 1,06,828 trainees to "collect more funds." Sharma, the sources claimed, opened five bank accounts for the ODL Cell, where she was the "sole signatory" and this was in "violation" of government rules.

Of the Rs 115 crore she received in fees from individuals, she allegedly spent more than Rs 105 crore without obtaining financial sanction from the state government, the sources alleged.

The expenditure was incurred for supplies and execution of works without following the rules and procedures and payments were released without complete supply of materials, and no work was done, they claimed.

These contracts, as per ED's probe, were given to entities "owned or controlled" by associates or family members (son-in-law, daughter) of Sharma as well as to a chartered accountant named Sarang More, who was the auditor of the ODL Cell.

The contracts were awarded "without" advertisements or invitations for tenders, as stipulated by the government for each procurement of above Rs 5 lakh, sources alleged.

Except for two parties, none had any experience in executing work orders awarded to them and payments were made "without" the required receipts or verification of actual supply, the ED claimed.