Bhopal: CEO who embezzles Rs 18.50 crore by marrying off 3500 couples on papers arrested

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Economics Offences Wing (EOW) of Madhya Pradesh police has arrested three persons including then chief executive officer (CEO) of Sinroj Janpad Panchyat for allegedly embezzling Rs 18.52 crores from Mukhyamantri Kanyadan Yojana.

Director General of Police (DG), EOW, Ajay Sharma confirmed the arresting and said that accused were being questioned.

Trio including CEO, Shobhit Tripathi, are accused of marrying 3,500 couples on papers to withdraw the money.

BJP MLA from Vidisha Umakant Sharma had raised questions during winter session of assembly and demanded a probe. Sharma had said that 6,000 marriages were done under Mukhyamantri Kanyadan Yojna in his assembly constituency in Covid-19 restrictions.

“It is impossible. There is a scam in it. It must be probed,” Sharma had said while talking to journalists at the state assembly.

Soon, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan ordered EOW to conduct a probe into the matter and take action.

During the investigation, as EOW officials say, it was found that a total of 6000 marriages were done under the scheme in Sironj block from year 2019 to year 2021. “Out of which, nearly 3500 marriages were done between April 2020 to June 2020. And, it was a lockdown period,” said an EOW official involved in the investigation.

The officials said that documents related to the couples, who were given financial assistance of Rs 51,000 each, were missing. “Several couples, who were shown as beneficiaries of the schemes, were already married,” he said.