Measures introduced to check racketeering in the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, under which free books are distributed to primary school students, have helped blow the lid off a fake enrolment scam in madrasas.

The Madhya Pradesh police have arrested a man, Shahid Kureshi, operating eight madrasas in Mandsaur district, for allegedly collecting books in names of non-existent students and selling them in the scrap market.

Shahid Kureshi was taken into custody after more than 16,600 books were seized from a tractor-trolley in an industrial area on the outskirts of Mandsaur town. Two other men, involved in transporting the books, were also taken into custody.

“It took us just 10 minutes to discover what was wrong,” claimed Mandsaur district project coordinator (DPC) Yogendra Mishra.

The Madhya Pradesh Text Book Corporation (MPTBC) has started numbering every book under the flagship scheme to keep a track on its journey and distribution. After Sunday’s seizure, Mishra said the project officials tallied the number on the book cover with the name of the beneficiaries through the record kept at the block office. After matching the numbers and names, the officials discovered that students in only one of the eight institutions had received the books so far, Mishra said.

Inspector Ashutosh Mishra of Yashovardhan Nagar police station said Kureshi had collected extra books by giving fake names of students. “The books can’t be sold in the open market because it’s clearly mentioned that they are meant for free distribution. Kureshi was all set to sell the books as scrap,” Inspector Mishra said.

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