Fake Scholarships for 50 Students Uncovered at Lucknow Madrasa; FIR Filed Against Operator

Lucknow – A major scholarship fraud has been uncovered in a madrasa operating in the city, where 50 fake student names were allegedly used to siphon off funds meant for minority welfare. An FIR has been registered against the madrasa operator following a probe by the Uttar Pradesh Minority Welfare Department.

According to officials, the madrasa was running two parallel institutes within a single premises in the Sarojini Nagar area of Lucknow. The irregularities came to light during a physical verification exercise initiated to identify ghost beneficiaries in the government-run scholarship scheme for minority students.

Investigators found that several of the listed students did not exist or had never attended classes. Moreover, forged documents and inflated enrolment figures were used to claim grants under the pre-matric and post-matric scholarship schemes.

District Minority Welfare Officer said that upon receiving a complaint, a surprise inspection was conducted. “It was found that one operator was running two madrasas in the same building and had enrolled over 50 fake students to claim scholarships,” the officer confirmed.

The operator has been charged under various sections of the IPC related to cheating, forgery, and criminal conspiracy. Authorities are also probing whether more people or officials were complicit in the scam.

The Minority Welfare Department has assured strict action and has begun a wider audit of similar institutions across the state to prevent further misuse of public funds.

The incident has raised serious questions about the oversight and transparency in the distribution of government scholarships in Uttar Pradesh.