Pune: A shocking case of scholarship fraud has come to light, where a student falsely claimed financial hardship to secure a ₹28 lakh government-funded foreign education scholarship. The fraud was uncovered despite both of the student’s parents being high-ranking government officers in Maharashtra.
The incident has led the Other Backward Classes (OBC) Welfare Department to recommend strict action against the student and her parents to the state government.
The OBC Welfare Department provides financial aid for students pursuing higher education abroad, but applicants must meet strict eligibility criteria. One of the primary conditions is that the family’s total annual income must not exceed ₹8 lakh.
However, the student falsely declared that her father was a daily wage laborer and her mother a housewife, submitting fabricated documents to misrepresent their financial situation. Based on this fraudulent claim, the ₹28 lakh scholarship was approved, allowing the student to travel abroad for her studies.
A complaint was later filed with the OBC Welfare Department, alleging financial misrepresentation in the scholarship application. Taking note of the complaint, officials launched a thorough document review and conducted a home visit, which exposed the fraudulent claims.
The investigation revealed that:
The student’s father is a Laboratory Scientific Officer in the State Health Department, earning over ₹13 lakh annually.
The student’s mother is a Deputy Commissioner in the Women and Child Welfare Department, earning more than ₹18 lakh annually.
The family’s total income exceeds ₹32 lakh, making them ineligible for the scholarship.
