ED registers FIR in Bihar toppers scam

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday said it has registered a money laundering case in connection with the 2016 Bihar toppers scam linked to the Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB), an official said.

Former BSEB chairman Lalkeshwar Prasad Singh, his wife and ex-MLA Usha Sinha, Principal of Vishnu Rai college in Bihar's Vaishali district Bachcha Rai, ex-BSEB secretary Harinath Jha and others have been booked under charges of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

"We registered the case last month to probe the inflow of money in the proceeding of crime in which several government officials are involved in direct and indirect way," an Enforcement Directorate official told IANS on condition of anonymity.

The official said those booked in the case will be questioned by the Enforcement Directorate soon.

The central agency's move comes on the basis of a case registered by the Bihar Police and the revelation made in the inquiry conducted by a Special Investigating Team (SIT).

The state government had ordered an SIT probe after the scam rocked Bihar in May last year when a video featuring Class 12 topper in humanities stream Ruby Rai and science topper Saurabh Shreshth went viral where the students of Vishnu Rai College were seen giving "ridiculous" answers to basic questions regarding their subjects.

The sting suggested that the 'toppers' might have indulged in fraud to achieve their top ranks.

- IANS