The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered an FIR regarding four lakh fake students found in Haryana government schools in 2016. The Anti Corruption Bureau department of the CBI police station in Chandigarh registered the FIR under Sections 120 B, 167, 218, 418, 419 and 477A of the IPC.
Punjab and Haryana High Court moved this case to the CBI on November 2, 2019, which revealed that out of 22 lakh students reportedly took admission in multiple classes across government schools, only 18 lakh enrollments were identified as real, and remaining four lakh entries were identified as fraud fake.
The court was also told that specific advantages were being offered to the students who were lying under backward or weaker sections of the society to support them to attend schools and the mid-day meal scheme.
In the beginning, the State Vigilance Bureau had filed seven FIRs based on its findings. However, citing slow progress in the inquiry, the High Court arbitrated in 2019,ordering the CBI to handle the case for a thorough and insightful inquiry. The court ordered the state vigilance bureau to promptly transfer all the important documents to the CBI.
Following the Supreme Court’s recent refusal of a petition seeking transfer of the investigation back to state authorities, the CBI proceeded to register the FIR.
