Shalarth ID Scam: Wanjari Back In Police Custody
He was taken into custody from Central Jail on Wednesday and formally arrested. He has been remanded in police custody till July 4.
The investigation pertains to misappropriation of govt funds by appointing teachers using forged credentials.
During a search of the premises of one of the key accused, Mahendra Mhaiskar, officials came across incriminating documents that led to the arrest of three individuals on June 27 — teacher Sadanand Jangade, school principal and chief secretary Chetak Dongre, and secretary of the institution Gangadhar Dongre.
All three are associated with Vinod High School, Gose (Buj), Khapa, Tumsar in Bhandara district.
During interrogation, police discovered that it was Wanjari who allegedly facilitated the entry of Jangade's name into the official school scholarship system using fake documentation.
Inspector Manish Thakare confirmed Wanjari is being questioned to unravel involvement of others. "One file containing forged ID documents has been recovered. We are hopeful of retrieving another crucial file soon," said Thakare.
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Indian Express
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Schools told to re-upload staff documents after Shalarth scam
In the wake of the Shalarth ID scam in Maharashtra, all government and aided schools across the state have been directed to re-upload original documents of teaching and non-teaching staff appointed between November 2012 and July 2025 for verification. Schools have been told to complete the process by the end of August. Commissioner of Education Sachindra Pratap Singh has issued a letter to all education officers instructing them to oversee and complete the verification drive. Local officers are to ensure schools upload all required documents, which will be verified along with the staff members' Shalarth ID. The scam, which came to light in Nagpur division, exposed major irregularities in teacher recruitment. Investigations revealed the use of fake Shalarth IDs and bogus TET certificates to fraudulently approve and pay non-existent staff. In response, the state government has recently formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the matter. Simultaneously the education department has expanded the verification drive to all divisions. As per the official letter, for staff appointed between November 2016 and July 2025, schools must upload the individual approval order, Shalarth ID order, appointment letter from the private management, and joining report. For the earlier period, from November 2012 to November 2016—when Shalarth IDs were not issued—schools must upload the appointment letter, joining report, and individual approval. However, the directive has sparked criticism from schools and staff. Many argue the process is an unnecessary burden on schools which have already done this process at the time of recruitment. Mahendra Ganpule of the Maharashtra School Principals' Association said, 'All these documents are already with the education offices and salary units. Instead of asking schools to repeat the process, the department should verify existing records and demand original documents for suspected entries.' The Shalarth ID is a unique identity for teachers in government and aided school staff in Maharashtra through which employment records are maintained and disbursement of salary and other benefits is ensured. Unravelling of the scam had shown that multiple fake IDs were created on the government's salary portal for teaching and non-teaching staff in government and aided schools to disburse salaries to fake teachers. While there have been few arrests by Nagpur police in this case, the state-formed SIT arrested the alleged mastermind of the scam, Nilesh Waghmare, earlier this week.
Time of India
a day ago
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Shalarth ID scam mastermind held after 105 days on the run
1 2 Nagpur: Nilesh Baburao Waghmare, alleged mastermind of the fake Shalarth ID scam, who had been on the run for 105 days, was arrested by the Special Investigation Team on Thursday afternoon after laying a trap in Dhantoli. Police said they cut off his access to finances to nab him. The high court had recently rejected Waghmare's bail application. The scam occurred between 2019 and April 2025, when Waghmare was superintendent (primary) of the salary cell in the education department. During this time in Nagpur division, fake Shalarth IDs had been created for several teachers and non-teaching staff. Through this, the govt was defrauded of crores of rupees. The SIT has accused Waghmare of not verifying the authenticity of proposals for Shalarth IDs received from schools, and creating 680 fake IDs for teachers and non-teaching staff. Waghmare helped these persons withdraw regular and arrears salaries, defrauding the govt of crores of rupees. As soon as the scam came to light, a 7-member committee was established under the leadership of deputy director of education Ulhas Narad. The committee's investigation confirmed the fraud, and on March 12, Ravindra Patil, junior administrative officer of the divisional deputy director of education office, filed a complaint at Cyber police station against Waghmare and several others. As soon as the case was registered, Waghmare fled from Nagpur. He was later suspended also. However, even as Ulhas Narad, Parag Pudke and others were arrested for the scam, Waghmare remained elusive. Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Happy Independence Day wishes , messages , and quotes !
Hindustan Times
3 days ago
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Education officers call off stir after govt assurances on Shalarth ID arrests
Pune: The state-wide agitation announced by the All Maharashtra Education Service Gazetted Officers and Employees Union has been temporarily called off after the state government assured that no innocent officers or employees would face wrongful arrest in the ongoing Shalarth ID fraud probe. All Maharashtra Education Service Gazetted Officers and Employees Union called off state-wide agitation after the state assured that no innocent officers or employees would face wrongful arrest in Shalarth ID fraud probe. (HT) The 'mass leave' agitation, which began on August 8, was initiated to protest what the union described as arbitrary arrests of education department officers and staff in various districts without proper investigation. The Shalarth ID fraud, involving alleged irregularities in the department's salary and service record management system, has prompted a wave of arrests by the police across the state in the recent weeks. On August 12, school education minister Dada Bhuse and education department principal secretary Ranjitsingh Deol met with union office-bearers to discuss their demands. Following what the union described as a 'positive response', the agitation was suspended with immediate effect. Key assurances given by the government included no officer or employee will be arrested without prior investigation. All cases related to bogus Shalarth entries, including those in the Nagpur division, will be handed over to the special inquiry committee constituted by the state government. Officers suspended in connection with the fraud will be reinstated to service after due police department will be officially informed, at the government level, about the union's demands and concerns. The union stated that the minister and principal secretary had firmly assured that 'no innocent officer or employee will face wrongful action'. Jyoti Parihar of the union said, 'We have been protesting for the past few weeks. Finally, the education minister has given us an assurance that he will look into the matter and has accepted our demands. However, if this does not happen in the coming days, we will resume our protest.' While the agitation has been suspended, the union has warned that if any arrest is carried out in violation of these assurances in the future, the protest will be resumed without prior notice. The union has appealed to all gazetted officers and employees of the education service to resume duty from August 13.
