The cyber police have made fresh arrests in a major education scam involving the creation of 540 fake Shalarth IDs, used to fraudulently draw salaries from the state exchequer.
Two clerks from the education department, Sagar Bhagole (35), a junior clerk, and Bharat Dhawale (54), a head clerk, have been taken into custody for their alleged role in assisting scam masterminds Sunil Magam and Sunil Dhole. The IP addresses linked to the creation of the fake IDs were traced back to Magam and Dhole, who are currently at large.
The fraudulent Shalarth IDs were used by the accused to impersonate teachers, headmasters, and assistant teachers, illegally pocketing significant salaries and other benefits.
The cyber police have initiated a manhunt for Magam and Dhole, whose arrests are expected to reveal further details and potentially expose more individuals involved in the scam.
Meanwhile, the investigation continues with summons being issued to other education department officials suspected to be aware of the scam but remained silent. Officials in the Zilla Parishad’s pay and salaries unit are also under scrutiny, with possible arrests imminent.
