15-05-2025
Shalarth ID scam key accused Narad, 4 others granted bail
Nagpur: The Nagpur sessions court on Wednesday granted
conditional bail
to
Shalarth ID scam
main accused education deputy director
Ulhas Narad
, Nilesh Meshram, Suraj Naik, Raju Meshram, and Sanjay Bodadkar.
Dubbed as one of the largest scams that rocked Maharashtra's education sector, the case exposed 580
fake Shalarth IDs
, which were allegedly used to disburse salaries to bogus teachers and non-teaching staff, causing a massive financial loss to the state exchequer.
The scam, uncovered in April 2025, revealed a systematic fraud operating since 2019 across schools in Nagpur division.
Investigations found that fake Shalarth IDs were generated to appoint unqualified individuals, some without teaching experience, as teachers and headmasters.
Forged documents facilitated these appointments without verification, enabling illicit salary payments. The scale of the scam prompted the education department to form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) comprising police and education officials to probe fraudulent appointments and potential involvement of senior officials.
CM Devendra Fadnavis had approved SIT probe into the scam.
Narad faces the gravest charges for approving headmaster appointments based on fake documents. Arrested in Gadchiroli on April 12, 2025, Narad along with salary squad superintendent Nilesh Waghmare, Nilesh Meshram, Naik, Raju Meshram, and Bodadkar, colluded to allegedly orchestrate the scam. The scam has exposed deep-rooted corruption in the education sector, leading to the suspension of several officials, including Narad, Waghmare, Meshram, and Bodadkar.
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During Wednesday's hearing, advocates Anmol Goswami, Kamal Satuja, and Kailash Dodani, representing Bodadkar, argued that the evidence against the accused was insufficient and, with the investigation complete, their detention was unnecessary. The court granted bail, though the terms and conditions remain undisclosed.
The scam, estimated to be running into crores, has sparked public outrage, with social organisations and political leaders, including BJP MLC Sandeep Joshi, demanding a thorough investigation.
Opposition parties have criticised the govt for failing to curb corruption.
It is alleged that one accused, Parag Pudke, based on forged documents secured the post of headmaster despite not being eligible for even a teacher's post. Even after being brought to his notice, Narad did not take any action and rather supported Pudke to continue in the job by allegedly pocketing a huge amount from him.
It is further alleged that the other co-accused Nilesh Meshram accepted Rs10,50,000 from Pudke and gave Rs20,000 to one accused Suraj Naik and Rs30,000 to Sanjay Bodadkar, and the remaining amount was distributed between Narad and Nilesh Meshram.
