SCERT scam: Enforcement Directorate to probe money laundering, benami property

GUWAHATI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) will probe the money laundering angle and the benami property amassed by the accused in the multi-crore-rupee scam in the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT).

Sources said that the ED has collected all documents related to the case which had been submitted in the court. Meanwhile, the Chief Minister’s Special Vigilance Cell (SVC) is investigating the investments made by the accused after siphoning off SCERT funds. The CM’s SVC has also freezed the bank accounts of the accused in the case.

Alleged financial anomalies and fund misappropriation to the tune of Rs 105 crore took place in SCERT, Assam in the name of offering Diploma in Elementary Education (D.El.Ed) course under Open Distance Learning (ODL). The alleged financial irregularities took place between 2017 to 2022. After the allegations of financial anomalies surfaced, the Assam Government suspended IAS officer Sewali Devi Sarma, Secretary to the Assam Government, Agriculture Department. She was the then executive-cum-director of SCERT, Assam.

Recently, Sewali Devi Sarma and two other accused were arrested from Ajmer, Rajasthan. So far, 10 people have been arrested in this case. On Monday, the police custody of Sewali Sarma and the other two accused who were arrested with her, was extended for five more days.

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