Latest news with #Vanjari
Hindustan Times
24-05-2025
- Hindustan Times
Edu officer who led inquiry into Nagpur teacher appointments fraud arrested
MUMBAI: In a significant development in the fraudulent teacher appointments fraud (Shalarth ID scam) in Nagpur, the Cyber Police on Thursday night arrested Chintaman Vanjari, who led the official inquiry into the scam, for his involvement in the scam. Vanjari is currently working as a divisional chairperson of the state education board. Vanjari's arrest marks a dramatic turn in a case. The police action against him comes a day after the arrest of a clerk in the deputy director of education's office, Laxman Upasrao Mangham, for allegedly creating fake IDs. According to investigators, Mangham's interrogation led to the flagging of Vanjari's name. Vanjari was also allegedly named during earlier interrogations of the other accused. The scam, believed to have been running since 2019, involved the illegal generation of Shalarth IDs, digital identifiers used to disburse salaries for ineligible teaching and non-teaching staff, in Nagpur district. Many of these appointments took place even when the government's official recruitment process was on hold. The scam came to light after Ravindra Dnyaneshwar Patil, a junior administrative officer, filed a formal complaint with the cyber police on March 12, reportedly on the instructions of then divisional deputy director, Ulhas Narad. Following this, a seven-member committee was formed in March under Narad to investigate the misuse of Shalarth IDs. However, on April 11, Narad was arrested after it was found he too had created fake Shalarth IDs. After Narad's arrest, a new committee was led by Madhuri Savarkar, an education department officer. However, the inquiry was abruptly halted in April with no reason and Vanjari was brought in to lead the investigation. His report submitted to the education commissioner in February listed 244 suspicious appointments, triggering further scrutiny. In April, the state government formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe into how the fabricated identities were uploaded onto the Shalarth portal to draw salaries of teachers and non-teaching staff. 'This case has exposed serious lapses and collusion within the education department,' a senior officer from the SIT said. 'We are closing in on the main masterminds.' Police suspect that forged documents and signatures, including those of the late education officer Someshwar Naitam, were used to appoint teachers fraudulently between 2010 and 2014, with their IDs created years later. The SIT has now turned its attention to another senior officer already under suspicion, with further arrests likely
Hindustan Times
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Maratha community members stage protest before Ajit Pawar during Beed visit
Maratha community members on Monday staged a protest in front of deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, demanding strict action against the accused involved in the attack on Maratha youth Shivaraj Divate, a resident of Limbuta village in Parli on Friday afternoon. The activists gathered before the gate of Parali rest house and demanded, 'Give justice Ajit dada.' The sloganeering lasted for ten to fifteen minutes, after which the DCM came out and gave a patient hearing to the activists. He was accompanied by MLAs Pankaja and Dhananjay Munde. Pawar promised the activists that strict action would be taken, after which the activists left the venue. Pawar, who was on a visit to Beed, was met with sloganeering by agitated Maratha activists, some of whom handed over a memorandum seeking strict action against the accused. Pawar is on his maiden visit to Beed after becoming the district guardian minister. He stated that the CM has reviewed the case and issued necessary instructions that such violent behavior will not be tolerated, regardless of the political affiliations of those involved. Pawar further said that strict action will be taken against all the accused and that the process to invoke the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA) has been initiated. ' All the accused will face strict action. The process to implement MCOCA has started,' Pawar said. Currently Beed district has been witnessing communal tension and caste clashes between Marathas and Vanjari communities in the wake of the brutal murder of Massajog Sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh. The Deputy chief minister had issued directives to the Beed police to invoke stringent sections of Bharati Nyay Sanhita, including the invocation of MCOCA if needed, against the suspects. The victim claimed that he could have become Santosh Deshmukh part II had the necessary interventions by locals not taken place on the day of the attack. Tensions between the two communities have been on the boil since Deshmukh's murder, where the accused belongs to the Vanjari community. The district has also witnessed caste flare-ups from time to time, hinting at a game of one-upmanship and domination.
