ED probing alleged scams worth nearly ₹4,000 crore across the education sector

The Enforcement Directorate is currently investigating alleged scams of nearly ₹4,000 crore in the education sector. The cases involve paper leaks, alleged fake admissions, scholarship frauds, fake degree rackets and recruitment scams. The agency has attached assets currently worth ₹1,500 crore and arrested several high-profile accused across States

The latest case involves entities linked to Al-Falah Group, in which the agency recently re-arrested Group chief Jawad Ahmad Siddiqui for his alleged role in the use of forged papers to acquire land in Delhi.

He was earlier booked for alleged generation and laundering of funds related to the Al-Falah Charitable Trust, Al-Falah University and associated institutions and entities. The ED filed a prosecution complaint after provisionally attaching 54-acres of land along with buildings, worth about ₹139.97 crore. It quantified the total proceeds of alleged crime in the case at ₹493.24 crore.

The agency has alleged that the institutions in question projected expired NAAC accreditations as valid to induce admissions. The university was also shown as recognised under Section 12(B) of the University Grants Commission Act. Besides, there were alleged irregularities in obtaining approvals and certifications.

Al-Falah University had also come under scrutiny after three doctors associated with the institution were arrested in connection with the alleged module linked to the explosion near the Red Fort in November 2025.

Teachers’ scam

In the alleged Primary Teachers’ scam in West Bengal, the agency has attached properties worth ₹151.26 crore. Seven people, including former Education Minister Partha Chatterjee and his aide Arpita Mukherjee, were arrested. It also attached assets worth ₹3.65 crore linked to MLA Chandranath Sinha.

The second case from the same State pertains to the hiring of assistant teachers (Classes IX-XII). The ED froze assets worth ₹238.8 crore. Among those arrested were Santi Prasad Sinha, Prasanna Kumar Roy, and MLA Jiban Krishna Saha. On April 3, 2025, the Supreme Court upheld the Calcutta High Court’s cancellation of 25,000 appointments. In the “Group C and D Staff” recruitment scam in West Bengal, attachments rose to ₹247 crore.

Delhi schools scam

Last year, the ED started investigating alleged financial irregularities worth ₹2,000 crore in the construction of over 12,000 classrooms and semi-permanent structures for Delhi government schools during the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) tenure from 2015 to 2023. Former Ministers Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain are under the scanner.

The agency is probing the alleged fraudulent blocking of seats in private engineering colleges in Karnataka. In the NEET-UG 2024 leak case, it carried out searches in Ranchi, Patna, and Nalanda. Investigations revealed that the main accused, Sanjeev Mukhiya, and his associates gathered intelligence on printing presses, warehouses, and transport vehicles used for confidential exam material. They allegedly tampered with sealed boxes en route to exam centres and stole question papers before they reached students. The papers were later allegedly sold through encrypted social media channels.

The ED has also investigated the 2022 Senior Teacher 2nd Grade Competitive Examination paper leak in Rajasthan and made several arrests.

Scholarship fraud

Multiple cases of alleged scholarship fraud have also been pursued by the agency. In Himachal Pradesh, private institutions allegedly siphoned government scholarships intended for Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, Other Backward Class, and minority students. The accused allegedly created ghost students and fabricated records to claim funds under post-matric scholarship schemes. Six persons were arrested and properties attached.

A similar scam was unearthed in Uttar Pradesh, where the Hygia Group allegedly claimed Central and State scholarships by forging student data. In Karnataka’s Mahadevappa Rampure Medical College, ₹33.34 crore in stipend funds meant for postgraduate medical students were allegedly misappropriated between 2018 and 2024. The ED attached ₹5.87 crore in immovable assets and seized properties worth ₹85 lakh.

In August 2025, a fake NRI quota racket linked to medical admissions across multiple private colleges came under the scanner. Investigators alleged that private colleges conspired with agents to fabricate embassy-issued NRI certificates and family trees to admit ineligible candidates. Such instances involving over ₹23 crore were also identified in West Bengal and Odisha. The ED provisionally attached close to ₹19 crore.

The other cases include the alleged fake degree racket involving Manav Bharti University in Himachal Pradesh. The agency has estimated the proceeds of crime in the case at about ₹387 crore.

In April last year, the ED carried out searches in Delhi, Noida, and Gurugram in a case related to promoters and owners of Forum for Indian Institute of Technology-Joint Entrance Examination (FIITJEE) coaching centres, months after several of its centres abruptly closed down allegedly without any notice.