New Delhi, May 13 (IANS): The CBI on Monday said that it has registered a case and carried out searches at over 22 places in Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh in connection with the alleged irregularities in Himachal Pradesh's pre-matric and post-Matric scholarship scheme.

A senior CBI official said, "A case in alleged irregularities in Himachal Pradesh pre-Matric and post-Matric scholarship scheme has been registered against unknown officials under sections of criminal breach, cheating by personation, forgery, Forgery of record of court or of public register and using as genuine a forged document."

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case on the request of the Himachal Pradesh government.

The official said that the unknown officials alleged misappropriated scholarship funds of the Schedule Caste, Schedule Tribe, Other backward classes and minority community to the tune of around Rs 250 crore.

He said the searches were conducted at 22 educational institution premises in Himachal Pradesh's Una, Shimla, Solan, Bilaspur, Chamba, Kangra and Shirmor, in Punjab's Mohali, Nawan Shahar and Gurdaspur and in Haryana's Karnal and Ambala.