Pune: A massive protest erupted across Maharashtra’s education department on Friday as hundreds of officers and employees observed a mass leave in protest against the arrests of officials in the alleged Nagpur Shalarth ID fraud. Senior officials, including directors and gazetted officers, participated in a protest held outside the Central Building in Pune. The protesters warned of an indefinite mass leave agitation starting August 8 if their demands are not addressed.
A Shalarth ID serves as a unique digital identifier assigned to teachers and staff working in government and aided schools across Maharashtra. It is essential for managing salary disbursements, accessing service records, and availing employment-related benefits through the state’s centralised payroll system.
In Nagpur, several teachers and staff members allegedly obtained bogus Shalarth IDs by paying bribes to school managements and education officers. Investigations suggest that some of them actively colluded with officials to create fake identities and open fraudulent bank accounts, receiving a cut from the misappropriated government funds.
On July 18, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis informed the state assembly that the estimated scale of the fraud could range between ₹1,000 and ₹ 3,000 crore. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted to probe the matter. In the wake of the revelations, School Education Minister Dada Bhuse has suspended Mumbai’s deputy director Sandeep Sangave, while Ulhas Narad, the deputy director of education in Nagpur, has been arrested.
The protest was triggered by ongoing police action in the Shalarth ID fraud case, where, till now, 17 officers from the education department have been arrested. The case involves allegations of creating 547 fake Shalarth IDs to embezzle around 100 crore.
Among those who joined the protest were primary education director Sharad Gosavi, secondary education director Mahesh Palkar, and planning director Krishnakumar Patil, along with several other senior gazetted officers. The protest was organised by the All Maharashtra Gazetted Education Officers’ Association.
During the protest, education commissioner Sachindra Pratap Singh held discussions with association leaders, but no resolution was reached. The association reiterated that unless the government provides clear assurances and meets its demands, a full-scale indefinite strike would begin on August 8.
Sheshrao Bade, president of the Akhil Maharashtra Rajya Shikshan Seva Rajpatrit Adhikari Sangh, said, “We are not against inquiries, but justice cannot be sacrificed for the sake of urgency. Our demand is simply to ensure a fair and transparent process before taking punitive action.”
The agitation has received strong backing from several other bodies, including the extension officers’ Union, the Headmaster’s Federation, the Non-Gazetted officers’ Association, and various teachers’ unions. L
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