People in rural Bidar being conned with fake ‘Beti bachao Beti Padhao’ applications

Kalaburagi: Exploiting people’s sentiments, and their gullibility, a group of miscreants in Bhalki and Basavakalyan taluks of Bidar, on the border of Maharashtra, are selling fake ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ application forms to parents of daughters, informing them that they can avail of a loan of Rs 2 lakh under the scheme.
These miscreants are selling these applications in front of post offices in rural areas in Bidar.People of Halbarga in Bhalki, and Halsur in Basavakalyan, appear to have bought into this scam, and are being swindled of their money. The miscreants are informing parents that they are eligible for a loan of Rs 2 lakh if they have a daughter aged between six and 32 under the Centre’s ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ scheme. Interestingly, these applications even come with a postal address they are meant to be sent to – Union ministry of women and child welfare, Shanthi Bhavan, New Delhi.
While people are paying Rs 5 or Rs 10 for each application form, those who are facing difficulties filling the forms are shelling out an additional Rs 20 to get the required information entered. Besides losing money, the parents are also enclosing details of their daughters, including date of birth, qualification and photocopies of either the voter ID or Aadhar card, along with the form. The villagers are paying a further Rs 50 to send these forms by speedpost.
A resident of Bhalki town, Sangamesh Walle told TOI, “This is what happens when fake news spreads. When I ask those who are buying these forms, they tell me that it’s just Rs 100 they are losing, but might end up getting Rs 2 lakh.”
When the racket was brought to the notice of Bidar deputy commissioner HR Mahadev, he told TOI, “I am not aware of such a thing happening. But I will look into it.”