Tablet money: cops nab youth with diploma from Malda
The Statesman | 13 November 2024
A youth with a diploma in computer science was arrested from Malda by East Burdwan police last night for his involvement in pilfering state funds for tablets to school students, which he’d secured after hacking state’s Banglar Shiksha portal, he admitted to police.
Halim Sheikh was arrested from Baishnavnagar in Malda.
On 31 October, the CMS High School authorities in Burdwan town lodged a complaint with the cyber police station bringing charges of pilferage of tablet funds of its 28 students. State provides funds assistance for purchase of tablets under the state’s Taruner Swapna scheme.
Within days of CMS School’s complaint, dozens of students from Asansol, Panagarh, Raina, Midnapore also brought similar complaints. Sayok Das, SP, East Burdwan, said today, “In our district tab money of 85 students from 20 schools was misdirected and of them about 10 had some issues with wrongful entry of KYC of the beneficiaries.”
Hakim, as he confessed to police, had first hacked Bengal government’s Banglar Shiksha portal in July and then gradually routed tab money to his account in phases. The SP said, “We’ve put a freeze on the hacked accounts but there’s still money stuck in 25 such accounts, which were yet to be recovered.”