Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government has suspended four officials of the Minority Welfare Department after an inquiry revealed irregular payments made to an Azamgarh madrasa teacher who had acquired foreign citizenship. The suspended officials include Joint Director S. N. Pandey and District Minority Welfare Officers Sahitya Nikash Singh, Lalman and Prabhat Kumar.
Investigators from the Anti Terrorist Squad and the department found that madrasa teacher Shamshul Huda Khan obtained UK citizenship in December 2013. Despite this, he continued to receive salary from the state until July 2017. He also received medical leave and later accessed GPF, pension and other retirement benefits. Officials stated these payments required scrutiny under service rules and should not have been cleared.
The inquiry noted that Khan traveled abroad during the period he was listed as a full time employee. His visits included Australia, Britain, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. The probe also highlighted the role of the madrasa management and the principal in supporting the irregular entries that kept his name active on departmental records.
The government suspended Pandey for clearing irregular retirement benefits. He has been attached to the Commissioner’s Office in Jhansi during the suspension period. Singh, Lalman and Kumar have been attached to the Directorate of Minority Welfare in Lucknow. Officials reported that authorities have issued a recovery order of 16.59 lakh rupees against Khan.
The case has raised concerns about administrative oversight inside district offices that manage minority welfare schemes. The inquiry report has indicated that more action is possible as the review continues.
