The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) on Thursday gheraoed the residence of Higher Education Minister Pradeep Panigrahi here protesting the alleged irregularities in scholarship distribution.
During the protest, the activists scuffled with police personnel, following which the cops detained a few of them. The ABVP demanded formation of a judicial commission to probe the scholarship scam and release of the audit report.
The protesters alleged that crores of rupees have been embezzled from the funds meant for meritorious students in the State by Ministers, administrators and political leaders. ABVP State secretary Abhilash Panda said, “Over Rs 50 crore has been misappropriated from the scholarship fund meant for meritorious students in the State. Despite repeated demands by the ABVP, the State Government is yet to form a judicial commission to probe into the incident.”
The activists that they would intensify the stir in coming days until and unless the culprits are not arrested and the scholarships are not given to the eligible students.
