Maharashtra's ₹160 crore payroll scam investigation comes to a close as Nashik Crime Branch arrested Sanjay Bhaskarrao Garud, a person linked to the education sector, for his alleged roles in procuring government salary payments through forged appointment documents and manipulated records. This is the most important step in the high-profile case that involves fraudulent salary disbursements to teachers and non-teaching staff.
According to police, Garud was arrested from a farmhouse in Solapur district and brought to a Nashik court. The court remanded him to 10 days of police custody so investigators could question him about the alleged network, forged documents, and financial transactions linked to the suspected fraud.
The officials allege that Garud was connected to the Shendurni Education Co-operative Society, which operates 15 educational institutions. All 177 teachers and non-teaching employees identified in the case were connected to these institutions, authorities said.
Police claim that government procedures to appoint teachers and staff were bypassed. According to the investigation, appointment proposals were never submitted to the Education Department or the Secondary Education Officer of Zilla Parishad, Jalgaon as required. Yet forged approval orders were allegedly prepared and uploaded to Maharashtra’s Shalarth online portal to generate employee IDs.
A Shalarth ID is mandatory for teachers and non-teaching staff in Maharashtra to receive government salaries. The ID is issued only after an appointment is confirmed and approved by the Education Department. The investigators say fake appointment approval letters and false Shalarth sanction documents were used to create IDs for people who were not eligible for government-funded salaries.
Police say salaries and other financial benefits were then released from the government treasury through these fraudulent Shalarth IDs. Now detectives are trying to get the total amount disbursed and identify the beneficiaries who may have received public funds.
The probe was further fueled by the Secondary Education Officer Jalgaon's report on suspected tampering with official records. Also, the Deputy Director of Education Nashik has questioned the authenticity of several Shalarth approval orders that were allegedly used during the process.
Investigators have also found that joining reports for all 177 employees indicated appointments between 2011 and 2013. 147 joining reports were said to have been prepared on the same day, raising serious concerns about the authenticity of the recruitment process and supporting documentation.
The investigation has expanded on the role of school principals, administrative officials, employees of the 15 organizations and other people involved in the alleged fraud, which are now being probed. Federal investigators are also looking into financial records to see whether any government officials were involved in the alleged misuse of public funds.
Police have invoked sections of organized crime under Section 111 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) indicating that investigators suspect the alleged payroll scam was executed through a coordinated and systematic misuse of government procedures and the Shalarth portal.
The investigation is still ongoing, of course, and more arrests and legal action may follow if more evidence shows other persons have been involved. The case remains one of Maharashtra’s most closely watched financial fraud cases and police are determined to find all parties involved and hold them accountable.
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