Nagpur/Mumbai: The infamous Shalarth ID scam that originated in Nagpur has now snowballed into a statewide controversy, forcing the Maharashtra Government to order a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe. Education Minister Dada Bhuse, speaking in the State Assembly on Tuesday, announced the SIT inquiry into what is being described as one of the biggest payroll frauds in the education sector, involving bogus teacher appointments and salaries siphoned off using fake digital IDs.
The scam, which has allegedly drained hundreds of crores from the state exchequer, revolves around the misuse of Shalarth IDs, the official digital payroll system for government employees. At least 580 ghost employees, both teaching and non-teaching, have reportedly received salaries based on forged documents and fake identities.
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The demand for a full-blown SIT probe was spearheaded by Nagpur Central MLA Pravin Datke, who has been relentlessly pursuing the matter since the scam first came to light in his constituency earlier this year. Raising a Call Attention Motion in the Assembly, Datke questioned the government over the status of the investigation and called for swift action to trace the masterminds and recover public money.
Ghost teachers, forged signatures, and dead officials
What started as a localized recruitment scam has now revealed disturbing patterns. According to Datke, salaries were fraudulently disbursed by forging the signatures of late retired Education Officer Someshwar Naitam, with fake appointments of teachers, principals, and clerks approved under his name — long after his demise.
Shockingly, many of these appointments predate 2012 — the year when the state government had imposed a ban on teacher recruitment, followed by the introduction of the Teacher Eligibility Test. Yet, records show recruitment numbers spiking between 2019 and 2022, with duplicate appointments and blatant manipulation of approval processes.
In a startling revelation, Datke claimed that 2,700 teachers were recruited across Maharashtra by submitting fake proposals and approvals, exploiting the loopholes in the Shalarth system. An FIR was finally registered in the case on March 12, but Datke questioned the pace and transparency of the investigation.
Further raising eyebrows is the fact that three different chairpersons appointed to head the government inquiry committee — Ulhas Narad, Dr. Savarkar, and Chintaman Wanjari — were themselves later named as accused in the scam. “When the very people entrusted with leading the inquiry are under suspicion, how can there be a fair and transparent investigation?” Datke asked pointedly.
The MLA also demanded clarity on whether criminal cases had been filed against all those implicated, including 211 teachers, two principals, and 18 junior clerks, all of whom allegedly secured appointments using forged documents.
Government promises action
Responding to Datke’s sharp queries, Education Minister Dada Bhuse admitted to the gravity of the situation, confirming that 19 officials have so far been implicated. He assured the House that strict action would be taken against those found guilty and that the SIT probe would cover the scam’s statewide tentacles.
Datke, however, pressed for additional safeguards, urging the appointment of a senior IAS officer from outside the Education Department to oversee the probe, to prevent potential conflicts of interest.
As the SIT prepares to dig deeper into what is emerging as a multi-crore scam of fake identities, ghost employees, and manipulated approvals, all eyes will be on the state government to ensure accountability and recovery of public funds.
