Police arrest teacher, calls him Bengal's tab scheme scam 'mastermind'

Kolkata, Jan 29 (PTI) The Police arrested a teacher-in-charge of a state government-aided school in West Bengal's Uttar Dinajpur district, and described him as the 'mastermind' of the tablet scheme scam, an official said here on Wednesday.

The accused, identified as Mohammed Mofitzul Islam alias Jewel, was arrested near the international border with Nepal.

The name of Jewel, originally a resident of Ghirnigaon Gram Panchayat of the border areas of Chopra, surfaced while interrogating another teacher of the same school arrested earlier in the tablet scheme scam, the police officer added.

Altogether 1,911 out of 16 lakh students of state-run schools in West Bengal have fallen victim to a cyber fraud linked to the state government’s ‘Taruner Swapno’ scheme, which provides Rs 10,000 to Class 10 and 12 students to purchase tablets.

"This man (Jewel) is the mastermind. He knitted a network in several districts and manipulated the school portal system to divert the funds. We are questioning him," the police officer of Islampur Police District said.

Jewel was on leave for quite some time, claiming that he was "very sick" and was going to New Delhi for treatment, he added.

The West Bengal Police formed a Special Investigating Team (SIT) to probe into the scam.

The total number of arrests went up to 52 including West Bengal Police arresting 43 people and the Kolkata Police nine, the officer said. PTI SCH NN