Tablet scam: 93 FIRs lodged, 11 held as Bengal police suspect involvement of inter-state gangs

According to ADG (South Bengal) Supratim Sarkar, the fraud was conducted by cybercriminals operating from multiple states.

Kolkata: In all 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, a senior officer of state police said on Friday.

The scam prompted police to launch an investigation. So far, 93 cases have been filed, and 11 people have been arrested in connection with the fraudulent activities, he added.

"So far, 11 people have been arrested and 93 FIRs lodged in connection with the tablet scheme scam. Out of the 16 lakh students of Class 10 and 12, 1,911 students have been defrauded," ADG (South Bengal) Supratim Sarkar told reporters.

According to Sarkar, the fraud was conducted by cybercriminals operating from multiple states, including Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Jharkhand.

"The investigation has uncovered evidence suggesting the involvement of interstate gangs. Some of the arrested suspects have reportedly admitted to being part of these operations, and documents seized during the raids have confirmed their participation in previous cyber scams, including siphoning off funds from other Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) schemes and the national scholarship portal," he added.

The state police has set up Special Investigation Teams (SITs) to probe the scam and are working closely with law enforcement agencies in other states. They are investigating whether there was any manipulation of the system at the local level or if internal collusion helped the fraudsters, he added.

"We are trying to find out whether these miscreants manipulated the system, or there was any involvement of people at the ground-level, or whether someone acted as a mole in the system to help the fraudsters," Sarkar said.