Nagpur: Nagpur Cyber Police have arrested a former education officer in connection with a major financial fraud involving the misuse of the online Shalarth salary system, in which the state government allegedly suffered losses exceeding ₹12 crore.
The main accused, Ravindra Shankarrao Katolkar, has been taken into custody after investigations revealed large-scale manipulation of the Shalarth portal to siphon off government funds. A criminal case has been registered at the Cyber Police Station, Nagpur City, under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act.
According to the investigation, despite the absence of any official authorization from the Deputy Director of Education, Nagpur Division, the accused allegedly created fake draft Shalarth IDs by misusing the online system. Using these fabricated IDs, salaries were credited in the names of non-existent teachers and non-teaching staff, resulting in massive financial fraud.
Gold Rate
23 dec 2025
The case was registered on the complaint of Ravindra Gyaneshwar Patil, Junior Administrative Officer from the office of the Deputy Director of Education. The offence has been registered as Crime No. 24/2025 at the Cyber Police Station, Nagpur City.
The probe, being conducted by a Special Investigation Team (SIT), revealed that Katolkar served as Education Officer (Primary) at the Zilla Parishad, Nagpur, between December 24, 2021 and March 20, 2022. During this period, he allegedly approved regular and arrears salary bills submitted by schools without verifying the authenticity of Shalarth IDs, despite being aware that several of them were fake. Investigators have stated that the approvals were granted with the intent of deriving personal financial gain.
Katolkar was arrested from Wardha and, while in police custody, was taken to the Pay and Accounts Office and Provident Fund Office, Nagpur, for further investigation. Salary bills bearing his signatures were seized in his presence as part of the evidence collection.
Police officials said additional complaints against the accused are being received, and efforts are underway to identify and apprehend other accomplices involved in the scam. Investigators are also examining the possibility of similar fraudulent activities in Bhandara and other districts.
The investigation is being carried out under the supervision of Police Commissioner Dr. Ravindra Singhal, Joint Commissioner of Police Navinchandra Reddy, Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) Vasant Pardeshi, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Cyber) Lohit Matani, and SIT head Nityanand Jha. The probe is being led by Senior Police Inspector Baliram Sutar of the Cyber Police Station along with his investigation team.
