Civil society organisation Human Rights Watch has moved the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) demanding compensation for the victims of the scholarship scam in the Odisha Higher Education Department.
In the petition to the NHRC, the Human Rights Watch has alleged that till date `3.9 crore has been misappropriated by the State Higher Education Department in the name of 304 gullible students on the head of scholarship.
This was revealed from the audit and the State Government has ordered an inquiry into it by the State Crime Branch. But the victims are now forced to put their signatures in different illegal documents and return the amount which has not been received by them, the petitioner alleged.
This violates human rights due to inaction, unlawful action and abetment by the public authority.
The petitioner prayed to take suitable action against the concerned authorities and compensate Rs 1 lakh each to the victims and take immediate steps to prevent mental tension and harassment of the victims.