In a major breakthrough in the Nagpur fraudulent teacher appointments scam, the Cyber Police arrested Chintaman Vanjari, the divisional chairperson of the state education board who was leading the official inquiry into the case.
Vanjari’s arrest on Thursday night marks a dramatic development. It follows the arrest of Laxman Upasrao Mangham, a clerk in the deputy director of education’s office, who was detained for allegedly creating fake Shalarth IDs. Mangham’s interrogation revealed Vanjari’s involvement, and earlier suspects had also named Vanjari during questioning.
The scam, which reportedly started in 2019, involved the illegal creation of Shalarth IDs — digital identifiers used to disburse salaries to ineligible teaching and non-teaching staff in Nagpur district. Many fraudulent appointments occurred even when the government’s recruitment process was officially on hold.
The fraud came to light after junior administrative officer Ravindra Dnyaneshwar Patil filed a complaint with cyber police on March 12, following instructions from then divisional deputy director Ulhas Narad. A seven-member committee was set up in March under Narad to investigate the misuse of Shalarth IDs. However, Narad himself was arrested on April 11 for creating fake IDs.
After Narad’s arrest, Madhuri Savarkar took over the inquiry, which was suddenly stopped in April without explanation. Vanjari was appointed to lead the investigation, and his February report flagged 244 suspicious appointments, prompting further scrutiny.
In April, the state government formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to examine how fake identities were uploaded on the Shalarth portal to siphon salaries. “This case reveals deep-rooted collusion within the education department,” said a senior SIT officer. “We are closing in on the masterminds.”
Police suspect forged documents and signatures, including those of the late education officer Someshwar Naitam, were used to fraudulently appoint teachers between 2010 and 2014, with their IDs created years later. The SIT is now focusing on another senior officer under suspicion, with more arrests expected.
