Two government-aided schools in Calcutta have lodged complaints alleging cash irregularities in the Taruner Swapna Scheme for students of Classes XI
and XII.

According to the complaints, the money earmarked by the state government for students to buy smartphone or tablet for digital learning has not reached them.

Similar complaints have poured in from across the state. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee has ordered an inquiry into why so many students have not received the money.

In Calcutta, the fraud has been reported by 43 students till Tuesday.

Of them, 12 are from a school in Jadavpur and the rest are from a school in Sarsuna in Behala.

Both cases have been handed over to the detective department of Kolkata Police.

The allocation of funds for buying devices is part of the Taruner Swapna Scheme launched by the chief minister in 2022. It gives ₹10,000 to every student of state-aided schools appearing in the higher secondary exam to buy a smartphone or tablet for digital learning.

Multiple cases have been reported across the state where students have not received the grant to purchase the tabs. Separate cases have been started.

Kolkata Police said they had started the probe.

We have started to assess the bank accounts where the money had been transferred in the case of the two city schools, a police officer
said.

“We are trying to fix the layer in which the problem started. We will track the proceeds of the crime through the banks where the money has been transferred. That will make it easier to track the accused persons,” said the officer at the Kolkata Police headquarters in Lalbazar.

Education minister Bratya Basu said the “Jamtara gang” could be involved.

“I suspect the Jamtara gang could be involved behind this. Let the police conduct their probe. The chief secretary is also looking into it. The culprits will be arrested soon,” the education minister told reporters.

Jamtara in Jharkhand is infamous for being a hub of cyber crime in India.

School heads

A platform of school heads wrote to the school education department that they could not be held responsible for the lapses in the distribution of funds.

In their letter addressed to the commissioner of school education, the West Bengal Headmasters’ Association said in many schools bank accounts details of the students were uploaded by “untrained clerks.”